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Bid to annul police office lease

Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde has applied to the High Court in Pretoria to have a lease signed with businessman Roux Shabangu for police office space declared null and void. “Papers have already been filed… and we are now waiting for a hearing date. “These contracts were entered into before I became minister. Part of the reason it has taken some time to get to the point of filing court papers is because of obstruction I received from within the department, and because I received contradictory legal advice,” she said yesterday. She denied signing off on the contract. “It is important to note media comments suggesting that these leases cost taxpayers dearly are incorrect. “We have not paid Mr Shabangu one cent, no work was ever started on the Durban offices and nor have we authorised Mr Shabangu’s company to complete any work on the Middestad building.”

The minister said some department officials were under investigation. “We have had the courage to say publicly we have a problem with corruption in the department,” Mahlangu-Nkabinde said. “I cannot be held responsible for what happened before my time, but I can promise that we will get to the bottom of all irregularities.” In a recent report, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found the Public Works Department deviated from the tender process, that the lease agreements were not at the market rate, and that Shabangu allegedly pressured officials to finalise the deals. She called on President Jacob Zuma to take action against Mahlangu-Nkabinde, police commissioner General Bheki Cele and senior officials involved in the Durban and Pretoria deals.

Source: iol.co.za

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Bid to annul police office lease

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