Nothing dodgy about South African Police Service (SAPS) rental accommodation

2 Aug 2010

The Department of Public Works wants to refute the allegations, inaccuracies and other innuendos contained in an article published in the Sunday Times on 1 August 2010.

In what clearly appeared to be a journalism driven by expediency of deadlines than the professional credo to reflect all the sides to the argument, the Sunday Times hurried to publish the untruths despite the department's undertaking to respond comprehensively to their enquiry.

Firstly, Public Works would like to indicate that line departments including the South African Police Service, do not sign leases with landlords.

Contrary to the report, this is the mandate of the Department of Public Works as the landlord of the state, so it was inaccurate to imply that General Cele signed a lease with anyone. Even the Department of Public Works official who has been mentioned as having signed the lease does not have any delegated authority to do so.

Instead, the general as the accounting officer responsible signed off an accommodation needs assessment of the SAPS for the Department of Public Works' implementation.

Client department's responsibilities are to sign needs assessments as well as funding certificates confirming the availability of funding for their needs. This authorises the DPW to start the process of procurement.

Also, it was factually incorrect to conclude that because no tenders were awarded, the action therefore amounted to Department of Public Works flouting the procurement processes.

The approach that was followed in this regard is known as a negotiated approach and it is completely legal. This means that the Department of Public Works received urgent needs from the SAPS in this instance, after which it became key that Department of Public Works approaches this in a negotiated fashion as provided by the relevant supply chain management prescripts of government. The issue of other bidders therefore falls away.

Like with many organisations, the SAPS is a growing service and would therefore naturally require additional accommodation, necessitating constant review of their current and future accommodation needs.

It was because of the above fact that the Department of Public Works acquired the Middestad Sanlam Centre in the Pretoria Central business district as additional to the Wachthuis building and was in the process of doing the same in Durban Central for the same client.

According to a signed lease agreement, the client was expected to occupy the additional Pretoria space anytime as from 1 November 2010, essentially meaning that both leases (i.e. for Wachthuis and Middestad) will run concurrently at market related rental.

Statement issued by Lucky Mochalibane, Department of Public Works, August 2 2010

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