Macpherson told the media he is going to ask for an investigation, and he believes that the question should be asked whether it was at all necessary to purchase the premises for such a large sum at the time.

Macpherson and Pretoria’s mayor, Cilliers Brink, on 2 August visited the Telkom Towers building, which was bought and renovated by the Department of Public Works for almost R900 million eight years ago. R250 million was then spent on its renovation, but six months ago, the building had to be evacuated after Solidarity responded to complaints from members of the SAPS and consequently demanded an inspection by the Department of Employment and Labour. The building was then declared unfit for human occupation.

According to Johan Böning, head of occupational health and safety at Solidarity, the building has not been in regular use since then, and SAPS members are now scattered all over and housed in other buildings, while some apparently have no office space and therefore they have to stay at home.

“It is disheartening that so much public funding has been spent to purchase and renovate the building, [and it has been] vandalised and occupied by criminal elements, thereby creating an additional burden for the City of Tshwane,” Macpherson said. “We simply cannot spend more than eight years trying to establish how to secure public property while it deteriorates into lawlessness.”

Macpherson said the investigation will need to determine why the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure bought the Telkom Towers and if it was necessary; what the process was which was followed for contracts to be appointed and whether the contractors were fit for purpose; whether any officials should be held accountable for the purchase and renovation of the building; if there’s a possibility of reclaiming money from contractors; what can be done with the building going forward; and what steps can be taken to avoid the situation from occurring again.

Böning said he was impressed that Minister Macpherson was able to find the time to visit the SAPS building so soon after his appointment to this important portfolio.

“Hopefully the new minister is here to bring change. Like him, we also want to know what irregularities took place here and who should be held responsible for it all. Apparently very little, if any, renovation has been done at Telkom Towers since the building was vacated in February. We as the public will only be able to expect better service from SAPS members if they also feel their own workplace is safe and neat,” Böning said.

“Solidarity is also aware of other SAPS sites that have been badly neglected, and we have asked the minister to pay attention to them as well,” the trade union said.

The post Solidarity welcomes ministerial call for probe into dilapidated SAPS headquarters purchase appeared first on ProtectionWeb.

Solidarity published its recovery plan this week, with enforcement of low and order one of its five top priorities along with infrastructure maintenance and development, lighter and predictable personal and commercial taxation, a stable currency, and a well-educated workforce.

“Nobody develops wealth if there is too great a risk that it will be taken away from them. It does not matter whether it is the state or other people who take wealth away. Crime stifles business confidence and general confidence in the country. The fact that almost nothing has been done to act on the findings of the Zondo Report proves that the government is not serious about fighting corruption,” the report states

There must be consequences for crime, Solidarity believes, as violent crime in particular makes it exceedingly difficult to market the country as a tourist attraction. Businesspeople will then also be reluctant to visit the country.

“No business opportunity is worth one’s life. It’s not even worth the risk. That risk is largely determined by the perception of South Africa that prevails abroad. If the statistics, even if they do not apply to places visited by international businesspeople, prove that the country is a dangerous place, then the country is a dangerous place. The only way to tackle the perception is to tackle the problem.”

Urgent intervention is needed, the trade union maintains, because according to recent statistics only 12% of murders resulted in conviction between 2019 and 2022. Another source made a calculation according to the number of victims, with a conviction rate of 6.8%. “This means that chances are approximately 90% that a murderer will get away with his atrocity in South Africa. It is therefore no wonder that an average of up to 75 people are murdered every day. Such figures are inexcusable and definitely do not promote South Africa’s image as a safe destination.”

South Africa’s sluggishness in prosecuting crimes is also evident in financial crimes, Solidarity pointed out. The Steinhoff saga played out way back in 2017. Sentences were not handed down until 2024, while other people are still being investigated and their legal battle is just beginning. This follows decades of corruption in the company. Corruption is rampant not only in the public sector, but the ability to detect and quickly prosecute corruption in the private sector also appears to be absent, the trade union said.

“Apart from that, more must be done to manage prisons so that people can adjust to mainstream society after release. It is almost unthinkable to accommodate people for the duration of their sentence in a violent environment, without any consideration for human dignity, and then to release them and expect them to want to improve the free society. Prisons must be places where people learn skills, work-oriented as well as social, and where they are prepared for a better life. The current prison system’s mere appearance makes prisoners used to a horrible existence rather than instilling any hope in them that they can achieve something better.”

As far as fighting crime is concerned, Solidarity believes it is necessary to maintain a good balance between a well-functioning police service that focuses on community safety, and a more militarised force that deals with, for example, illegal miners and gang violence. “Unfortunately, the South African reality is that the police service cannot fully demilitarise and still expect to deal with serious public violence and established violent criminals.”

The trade union added that where decay has such adverse outcomes as in the police and justice system, the education system and the country’s transport system, urgent intervention is needed. “One cannot wait too long, and it would be insane to expect the same people who caused the decay to fix it. One way to achieve this is to establish a special priority department in the treasury, which straightens out critical sectors within an 18-month period. The department must have one task per period, which must be completed by the end of that period. Priorities for the first five years should be crime, education and transport.”

The post Maintaining law and order a key part of Solidarity’s plan for SA’s economic recovery appeared first on ProtectionWeb.