Work stopped at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) in Pretoria and a nearby branch of Absa bank for about an hour on Friday as police searched both buildings for bombs.
The police’s dog unit and bomb disposal unit were sent to both scenes shortly after midday, said spokesperson Inspector Percy Morokane.
The SARB building comprises an entire block in Church Street, with the Absa bank on the corner of Van der Walt and Prinsloo streets just around the corner.
Both buildings were evacuated and thoroughly checked, Morokane said.
After about an hour, both were declared safe and staff allowed back in.
Morokane would not comment on the origin or nature of the threats ”for safety reasons and for investigating purposes”.
The SARB said it received an anonymous threat by phone at about noon.
The building was evacuated according to normal procedure, and police and emergency services alerted immediately.
”The national payment system’s functions and the bank’s financial market operations were uninterrupted and the backup process was initiated immediately.”
On Wednesday, 10 employees of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry were admitted to hospital for observation after a powdery substance feared to be anthrax was found in an envelope that apparently arrived at the department’s Schoeman Street offices through the post.
The results of police forensic tests being conducted on the substance are expected to be known early next week.
The 10 staff members were discharged from hospital on Thursday after displaying no symptoms.
Morokane said the two incidents could not be linked. — Sapa