Roux's offices in bad state

Controversial property tycoon Roux Shabangu is milking the Independent Complaints Directorate millions on rentals while the building has "latent defects".

The ICD was yesterday criticised in Parliament for leasing all of its offices, including its Pretoria head office at a cost of R25-million a year.

This is after the police watchdog body told the national assembly's portfolio committee that the City Forum Building it was renting from Shabangu, at a cost of more than R10.5-million in this financial year, was full of "latent defects" such as malfunctioning lifts and a flooded basement.

At another rented ICD office in KwaZulu-Natal, workers have been barred from accessing the parking area because the landlord has not been paid.

ICD acting programme manager Matthews Sesoko stunned MPs when he said the lifts at the City Forum Building had been defective for months, and that Shabangu and the department of public works were not treating the matter with a sense of urgency as they told him that they were still awaiting the arrival of "parts from China ".

Public works, as government property management agency, has leased the building on behalf of the ICD.

"We've received correspondence from both public works and the landlord that they are in the process of fixing these defects," said Sesoko.

"The latest correspondence was to the effect that the lifts have been affected by water and that they are going to get new parts from China and fix them. unfortunately it takes long and public works seemed to be reluctant to act against the landlord in terms of fixing all these latent defects."

The building covers 7614m² - double the floor space the ICD requires.

Shabangu is said to be politically connected and is at the centre of a police office lease debacle that led to the suspension of police commissioner Bheki Cele and the axing of former public works minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde from cabinet.

In November last year, Sesoko and his team told the same portfolio committee that public works had kept them in the dark regarding the R10.5-million rent of its headquarters.

The City Forum lease is now a subject of a probe by both the office of the Public Protector and Special Investigating Unit. The office of the state law advisors has asked the ICD to stop making monthly payments of R729000 to Shabangu pending the outcome of the probe.

Committee chairman Sindi Chikunga, pointed out that the City Forum building was acquired for less than R59-million, yet Shabangu's company stands to make close to R140-million in terms of the lease agreement.