Telkom Towers standing empty – five years after SAPS bought it

The concrete edifice that Telkom occupied in downtown Pretoria until it moved to a modern campus in the suburbs remains unoccupied, five years after it was bought by the South African Police Service as its new headquarters.

This is according to a reporting in the Sunday Times, which said that despite the police buying the offices in 2016 for R695-million and spending almost R200-million on renovation and other services, they have yet to move in. Most head office staff continue to work from the old SAPS head office in the Koedoe building on Pretorius Street.

Telkom Towers, as it was known, was Telkom’s headquarters for decades. The company moved to Centurion – the site of its network operations centre – in 2015, a move that at the time was estimated would save the company as much as R200-million/year.

The old office buildings, which are a prominent feature of the skyline in the Pretoria CBD, consist of four concrete office blocks straddling Johannes Ramokhoase Street (formerly Proes Street) on the western side of the city centre.

The Sunday Times at the weekend quoted a report from the auditor-general that showed that government has spent million on refurbishments at various facilities that have dragged on for years. This includes the old Telkom Towers, it said.

According to the report, additional costs were incurred at the facility at the police’s request – including R152-million paid to “consultants”, R10-million for security and R15-million for facilities management.  – © 2022 NewsCentral Media