Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson has ordered an investigation into the R695 million South African Police Services building at Telkom Towers in Tshwane, which has been vandalised and overrun by criminals.
Macpherson, together with City of Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink conducted an oversight visit to the building on August 1 to investigate the reasons behind its ongoing vacancy.
The SAPS bought the building in 2016, intending to use it as their head office. An additional R250 million was spent on its renovation and repairs.
However, Macpherson says the building has been scarcely used and has remained vacant over the past eight years.
“It is disheartening that so much public funding has been spent to purchase and renovate the building, but it was allowed to be vandalised and occupied by criminal elements, thereby creating an additional burden for the City of Tshwane.
“We simply cannot spend more than eight years trying to establish how to secure public property while it deteriorates into lawlessness,” Macpherson said.
He said the independent investigation would address why the building was purchased, whether it was necessary, and the processes followed by the appointed contractors.
“The independent investigation will also determine whether the purchase of the complex by the Department of Public Works was the best option for the SAPS and whether any officials should be held accountable for the position the department finds itself in in relation to the purchase and renovation of the building.”
Macpherson said the investigation will also determine if there are grounds to reclaim payments from contractors for incomplete or substandard work and recommend steps to prevent similar issues in the future.
He said his department must accelerate its efforts to secure and effectively use public investments, to prevent wastage of funds in a fiscally constrained environment.
“We simply cannot be spending millions to repair and address vandalism, and poor planning and spending by the department.”
He said the department will partner with the City of Tshwane to ensure buildings are utilised for public benefit, remain well-maintained, and do not impose additional burdens on the City.
In a video on X, City of Tshwane Mayor Brink noted that during the building oversight with Macpherson, they discussed their collaboration on regenerating the inner-city.
[WATCH] GNU at work. Productive meeting with Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson discussing collaborations on regenerating Pretoria CBD. @CityTshwane pic.twitter.com/CtWCVABmDc
Macpherson said they agreed to meet monthly to address the backlog in the inner city that exist, “so that we can get people back into inner city, we can put government departments back into work in the inner city and that we can contribute to making Tshwane the amazing city that it is and not only just now but into the future”, he said.
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