POPCRU welcomes the decision to shut down Correctional Services Headquarters building

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) welcomes the decision to shut down the building housing the Correctional Services in the Pretoria Central Business District.

The department has since the 2016 inspections of the building failed to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety standards.

Since then, there has not been a health and safety committee, there have not been First Aiders, there have been no fire marshals and there have not been any evacuation plans in the case of fire.

Further, the building has no certificate of compliance for the 9 lifts, the water tank that must be utilised in the case of fire has had no water, has had no pressure pump and is not even connected to the main water feeder.

We are strongly opposed to anyone who would want to interdict this life-saving decision to shut down the building, and find it senseless that government departments at national level opt to rent buildings instead of buying their own as this could have by now saved taxpayers millions of rands.

The Department of Correctional Services has been leasing this building since 1970, meaning 48 years of renting. Had the DCS bought its own residence post-1994, they could have saved a lot of resources.

The insistence of government departments continuing to rent out buildings, including that of the South African Police Services, is highly suspicious, especially when there are claims of limited resources which workers in the DCS bear the brunt of. This can only be a reflection of cronyism, and should be halted.

Statement issued by Richard Mamabolo, Popcru Spokesperson, 14 September 2018