This is a view of one of the rooms in the SAPS offices in Telkom Tower, Pretoria, which were evacuated and closed by labour inspectors earlier this year. Photo provided.
Members of the National Assembly's Public Works and Infrastructure Committee expressed concern that the ministry had failed to deliver about 80 per cent of the projects it had planned for the 2022/23 financial year.
Asked whether the department had a plan of action to fast-track delayed projects, District Attorney Edwin Bass said it was “unacceptable” that the department had failed to meet its 80 percent goal.
In March, Ground Up reported the Auditor-General's report into gross irregularities to the Portfolio Committee. According to the report, the Telkom Towers complex in Pretoria was purchased by the Department of Public Works in April 2016 for approximately R700 million. However, eight years later the complex is underutilized and police personnel were recently evacuated from the premises due to safety concerns. Eight buildings in the complex are vacant, costing the government at least R592 million. The Auditor-General flagged this as gross irregularities.
The Telkom Tower was meant to become the headquarters of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Pretoria, but was inspected by Ministry of Labour officials earlier this year and deemed unfit for human use.
However, then Police Minister Bheki Cele admitted that he had been working from home for the past four years due to the situation at Telkom Towers.
At a briefing on Wednesday, ACDP's Wayne Thring questioned progress on the Telkom Tower issue, saying “hundreds of millions of rands have been spent to house the SAPS” in a complex that remains unfinished.
Responding, DPWI head of Property Management and Trading Entity (PMTE), Siza Sibande, said the ministry was in the process of addressing some of the issues.
“There are some issues that date back to 2013, including the Telkom Tower issue which the minister has launched an investigation into… We are currently reviewing the annual performance plan as part of the budget assessment process,” he said.
The portfolio committee is due to visit Telkom Towers next month.
Incomplete projects
Meanwhile, the Auditor General's Office also revealed that the department achieved just 20% of its planned targets for the 2022/23 financial year.
Tintswalo Mashia, deputy divisional leader at the Auditor-General's Office, said 107 projects had been significantly delayed, with a total expenditure of R3.9 billion. “These delays were mainly due to poor performance by contractors, who were not available to departments.”
The auditor-general's report said the department had “failed to deliver quality projects on time and within budget” and also found R521 million in irregular expenditure, a sharp increase from R145 million in the previous financial year.
Masia added that serious fraud remains an issue within the department, resulting in losses estimated at R746 million.
The Office of the Auditor General is expected to provide the committee with further details about the serious misconduct discovered within the department.
This article was originally published Ground Up