Another SAPS department has been locked out of its premises because of unpaid rent.
|||Another SAPS department has been locked out of its premises because of unpaid rent.
This comes just weeks after a building audit report highlighting similar problems was handed to Parliament.
The gates of the Mitchells Plain local criminal records centre were chained and locked when employees arrived for work on Wednesday.
After being addressed by members of the SAPS at 11am, they were told to go home for the day.
Some rejoiced at the unplanned day off, but others seemed upset at circumstances beyond their control.
“They told us to just go home for the day and check back later,” said one employee from her car window as she drove off.
National police spokesman Colonel Vish Naidoo said the matter was between the landlord and the Department of Public Works.
He could not say how many people were affected by the closure, citing security reasons, or for how long the building would be closed.
The Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works referred all queries to the national Department of Public Works. The national department could not be reached for comment.
The criminal records centre is responsible for forensic analysis, including investigating crime scenes and collecting, processing and preserving physical evidence, as well as registering and managing criminal records.
Forensic testing has suffered because of a huge backlog in the past few years, and while the number of backlogged cases has continued to decrease since 2009, a temporary closure may affect the progress made.
The latest lockout comes on the heels of a Parliamentary hearing before the police oversight committee on February 14, when the SAPS faced off against the Department of Public Works.
SAPS chief operations officer Lieutenant-General Bonang Mgwenya told the committee the department was not doing enough to procure leases and maintain properties on their behalf.
This was evident on Wednesday since there appeared to be initial confusion among government officials over who was responsible for the lockout.
Mgwenya told the parliamentary committee that the police did not have a record of which leases had been paid and would only find out when the SAPS was locked out by a landlord.
The SAPS asked Public Works to be allowed to take over responsibility for lease payments and utilities to avoid future problems. This was confirmed during the hearing by the deputy national commissioner for physical resource management, Lieutenant-General Leah Mofomme.
In November, Public Works Minister Thembalani “Thulas” Nxesi introduced a task team that was supposed to signal a turnaround strategy regarding lease management by the department. Members of the team included property management experts that were tasked to ensure there was no backlog after public outcry surrounding poor asset management.
janelle.schroeder@inl.co.za - Cape Argus