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Another police station upgrades in the Free State funded by the Department of Public Works (DPWI) and the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) is standing still due to late or non-payment of the contractor.

Upgrades to Odendaalsrus SAPS, which started in May 2018, will now be delayed until at least February 2024. R 56, 5 million has already been spent on this R77 million project, with very little to show for it. (See photos here, here and here).

In July 2022, the Department of Labour and Employment issued a prohibition notice and closed parts of the station due to the absence of running water, falling ceilings, hazardous electrical cables, and the poor condition of the Temporary CSC Office. This comes after a ceiling of the newly renovated section collapsed on an employee.

The lack of electricity is a safety hazard at night and burglaries occur frequently. A generator was installed in 2019, but never serviced by the DPWI. Generators at SAPS stations are required to be serviced every six months.

The holding cells were declared unsafe as far back as 2004. There are no telephone lines in large parts of the building and archived dockets were kept in the toilets in violation of the National Archives Act as recently as September 2022 (see photos here, here and here).

The DA will write to the chairperson of the parliamentary Select Committee on Security and Justice, Shahidabibi Shaikh, requesting that Minister Patricia de Lille and the DBSA appear before the committee to account for this incompetence. SAPS members should not be exposed to risks and constraints whilst they are tasked with protecting the public and delivering a vital service.

Issued by George Michalakis MP - DA Spokesperson on Security and Justice in the NCOP