Government’s “headless chicken approach” to the billion-rand shoddy national police headquarters

Almost R1-billion has been spent on the uninhabitable Telkom Tower complex in Pretoria meant to house the national headquarters of South African Police Service. Photos: Ihsaan Haffejee

“Would you like to work in an environment like this?” an employee asked the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure during its site visit to the national headquarters of the South African Police Service on Thursday.

The committee visited only Telkom Towers North, just one of the buildings that make up the vast complex in Pretoria. The SAPS employee complained about water leaks, poor air circulation, dusty conditions and shoddy electrical workmanship.

In February, offices were evacuated after they were declared unfit for human use. According to the Auditor-General’s report, eight of the nine buildings in the complex have never been used.

The inspection follows a site visit by the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson in August, after which he commissioned an independent report into the R695-million purchase of the Telkom Towers complex in 2016 and its subsequent renovation for R250-million.

Carol Phiri, committee chairperson, led the oversight visit. She said the condition of the building was bad and that they would be compiling a report and taking it to the plenary.

“I think we also need to kickstart a forensic audit. We need to get to the bottom of what happened here because money for service delivery has been spent. Government money has just gone down the drain. This project has taken too long and it is still incomplete,” said Phiri.

She said the conditions in the other buildings are thought to be worse, as little or no work had been done on them as they continue to fall into disrepair.

She also said the committee had not received any timelines from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure as to when the project might be completed.

“There seems to be a headless chicken approach. It’s been eight or nine years already since these buildings were purchased. Even in the presentations we were shown, they are not telling us when they anticipate to finish. The longer we sit with these buildings, which are unmaintained, the more money we are going to lose,” said Phiri.

Carol Phiri (centre), chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure, conducts an oversight visit to the Telkom Tower complex in Pretoria which houses the national headquarters of South African Police Service.

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