THE state-of-the-art police building, completed in August 2016 for Aberdeen’s South African Police Service administrative staff, is still unable to be fully utilised, more than three years after being handed over to the SAPS by the Department of Public Works.
This came to light when Bobby Stevenson, shadow MEC for Safety and Security, conducted an oversight visit to the town last week on Tuesday at the request of Councillor Rudy Jacobs, in response to a number of complaints he had received about the SAPS in the town.
While not dismissing the concerns of the community related to a lack of personnel on shifts and the large number of illegal liquor outlets, Stevenson was shocked to learn that the new building, which cost over R6.2 million, only had one office in use.
According to local staff, the kitchen and toilets cannot be used, and these have still not been rectified by the contractor.
The main obstacle, however, precluding use of all the offices is the lack of telephone and data lines, without which staff cannot function.
Each computer needs a terminal point and a printer point that need to be registered on the system, which falls under the technology management services division of SAPS.
In response to enquiries from the Komani-Karoo Express, Colonel Sibongile Soci from the provincial media communication office failed to give answers as to the delay in the installation of these critical communications facilities and in the repair of the toilets and kitchen.
“It is shocking that after almost four years, our police officials are still working in the cramped conditions of the old building,” said Jacobs.
Councillor Eldrige Ruiters, who accompanied Stevenson and Jacobs, agreed, and was disappointed that Soci refused to respond to questions concerning the time frame of the application for the lines.
Although Soci also stated that “SAPS can confirm that we have not yet taken up occupation of the building,” this is clearly not so, as the SAPS has furnished the building.
Station commander Captain Vernon Minnaar has an office in the building, and the conference room is occasionally used for meetings.
According to a response from Thami Mchunu, media officer from the national Department of Public Works, the building was delivered in immaculate condition and everything was fully functional except the telephone and IT connections.
He confirmed that the buildings were occupied soon after handover even though the lack of communication systems hampered service delivery.
“The SAPS in Aberdeen had to apply for Telkom lines via their channels, while SAPS ICT were responsible for sourcing a server and computer hardware,” said Mchunu.
