‘SAPS is not in arrears’: Landlord pays R5m after city cuts services to police HQ in Pretoria

The SA Police Service has moved to assure the public that it was “business as usual” at its administrative headquarters in Pretoria after the City of Tshwane said it was cutting off utility services over nonpayment.

The city has managed to claw back more than R300m from debtors since embarking on an aggressive revenue collection campaign, which involved naming and shaming certain alleged account defaulters and cutting off water and electricity.

Government offices, shopping malls, hotels, petrol stations, churches, residential estates and the Hatfield Gautrain station have been targeted.

“The SAPS can confirm that the Wachthuis building is leased by the national department of public works and infrastructure (DPWI) for use by the police service,” said spokesperson Col Athlenda Mathe.

“The DPWI settles the rental payment on a monthly basis to the landlords as per the lease agreement. The landlords have a responsibility to pay for municipal services, on a monthly basis. DPWI then recoups such monies from the SAPS as per the devolution agreement.

“The SAPS is therefore not in arrears with municipal services.”

The city said in a tweet on Wednesday that the landlord had paid its municipal bill of more than R5m.

The city reported on social media a week ago that municipal services to a building used by SAPS in Centurion had been disconnected.

“This is the building that houses the broadcast and public section which produces the popular SAPS programme ‘When Duty Calls’. Here too, the SAPS can confirm that the service is not in debt in this regard,” said Mathe.

“While services are yet to be restored at this building, the matter is receiving urgent attention and measures have been put in place to ensure that the work of the section is not affected.”

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