Old, dilapidated infrastructure threatens the health of staff and suspects at Pretoria Central Police Station

Issued by Crezane Bosch MPL – DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Community Safety
18 May 2022 in Press Statements

Pretoria Central Police Station personnel’s health, as well as the health of suspects, is being endangered because of mould and an unbearable stench which comes from the leaking sewer in the building.

See pictures here, here, here and here

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng conducted an oversight inspection at the police station after several complaints of hazardous conditions were reported to the DA.

The DA can confirm that the old building is in a terrible state due to poor planning and a lack of regular and proper maintenance.

There is mould and leakages in the underground parking and towards the holding cells.

It is reported that several complaints have been made to the SAPS Provincial Commissioner and the Department of Public Works yet very little has been done, however, when maintenance has been done by the Public Works Department it is temporary patch-work instead of a long-term solution.

The environment is not conducive to work in and the personnel at the police station have become a causality of the government’s incompetence over the years as this is said to be a reoccurring issue.

Yesterday, 21 suspects in the holding cells had to be shifted to a nearby police station due to sewerage flowing in the passages leading to the cells. This becomes an inconvenience to the frustrated staff as it takes away human resources because they must move all the arrested suspects to be booked again at the nearest police station.

The DA is concerned that the Department of Public Works and Property Management has contravened the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 which states that the health of workers must be protected from a hazardous environment and to provide for issues related thereafter.

By contravening this Act, the station’s personnel and residents who use the station daily put their health at risk.

The DA will continue to put pressure on the Gauteng MEC of Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko to engage her national counterpart in the Department of Public Works to ensure that there is regular and proper maintenance of this police station and all police stations across the province.

We will also be engaging our colleagues at Infrastructure Development to ensure that we tackle this problem holistically and get a swift solution.