Cape Town — Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean MacPherson, is seeking answers as to why the Telkom headquarters in Pretoria remains unoccupied and vandalised.
Macpherson, along with Tshwane Mayor, Cilliers Brink, conducted an oversight visit to the buildings to determine the reasons behind its current vacancy.
In 2016, the building was bought for R695 million, while a further R250 million was spent on renovations.
He said in a statement that it was unacceptable that the complex had been dormant for the past eight years and said it was disheartening to see that so much public funding was spent on a building that had gone to waste.
“We simply cannot spend more than eight years trying to establish how to secure private and public property while it deteriorates into lawlessness,” he said.
The minister said the terms of his investigation were to determine the reasons behind the purchase of the building, the processes followed, whether the purchase was the best option for the South African Police Services (SAPS) and whether any officials should be held responsible for the position the department finds itself in, and whether anything can be done to avoid a similar situation from occurring.
It cannot be that it takes 10 years for the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure to decide on how to secure a building.
We have to act with urgency to secure our buildings and ensure it’s not vandalised. #LetsBuildSA pic.twitter.com/47XCMLf3jH
— Dean Macpherson MP (@DeanMacpherson) August 1, 2024
Macpherson said the Department needed to act quickly to address the issue of spending public funds, and added it was unacceptable for the department to spend millions to repair and address vandalism.
He said the department would also start working closely with the City of Tshwane to ensure that the department’s buildings were used for good and would not fall into disrepair and become a burden to the city.
According to The Citizen, Cilliers Brink welcomed the minister’s probe into the Telkom complex and said the building had started to affect the quality of life of those living in the city. He said things could only start to improve.
“We are reviewing the city’s derelict buildings by-laws. It has come up against some constitutional challenges. Unfortunately, our eviction law in South Africa makes it difficult to get control back once you have lost it or a building has been hijacked,” he said.
Brink said it was important for the city to condemn buildings that are unsafe for occupation and the consequences must follow suit.
[WATCH] GNU at work. Productive meeting with Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson discussing collaborations on regenerating Pretoria CBD. @CityTshwane pic.twitter.com/CtWCVABmDc
— Cilliers Brink (@CilliersB) August 1, 2024
According to SABC News, officials said the buildings have been hijacked by criminals and will need to be reclaimed. Renaldo Pieterse from Solidarity said it was a problem for his team as, despite the building’s closure, there are still people working there.
“We are glad the minister came to ground level to experience what we’ve talking about for several years now. There are a lot of problems, government buildings belonging to the government that DPW is responsible for are falling apart. I am working in the police sector and can tell you that police stations everywhere are falling apart,” he said.
Trade union Solidarity says the police still use the notorious Telkom Towers building in Pretoria, despite it being declared unsafe. Public Works Minister Dean MacPherson has also launched an independent probe into the purchasing of the building.
More: https://t.co/C5p1ZF4H09…— eNCA (@eNCA) August 2, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
