Telkom Towers: Saps, public works to face MPs
Police top brass and public works department officials will have to account before members of parliament this week.
This follows the bungle at the SA Police Service (Saps) headquarters at the Telkom Towers complex in Pretoria in which staff were evacuated and the building declared uninhabitable.
The only building that had been used by Saps at Telkom Towers was evacuated on 26 February after an inspection by labour department officials, who were accompanied by police management and the union Solidarity.
The complex was also flagged by the auditor-general. It was among 12 material irregularities identified in its report to parliament.
The complex was purchased by the public works department for Saps in April 2016 for nearly R700 million, according to the Office of the Auditor-General.
The office also found that only one of the nine buildings in the complex had ever been used by Saps. Eight others have been vacant, costing the government at least R592 million.
Saps had said the public works department never handed over the other buildings. Letters between department and Saps, some as far back as 2018, show how the move to the Telkom Towers was meant to alleviate pressure on the lease budget. Health and safety and lifts not working at the building were also raised then.
Yesterday, sources confirmed that senior Saps members and public works officials will be briefing MPs on the public works portfolio committee today and the portfolio committee on police tomorrow over the Telkom Tower matter.
According to Solidarity, a letter sent to Saps in November 2023 about issues at the building included that there were sewage leaks, most toilets were not working and overall bathroom hygiene was in a poor state. Lifts were regularly out of order and there was only one fire extinguisher for each floor, which reportedly were last serviced in July 2022.
National Saps spokesperson Athlenda Mathe, confirmed that Police Minister Bheki Cele met Public Works Minister Sihle Zikalala met yesterday to discuss the matter. GroundUp sent questions to the department of public works on Friday. The questions were acknowledged but not answered.