South African Police Service (SAPS) offices in Cullinan, near Pretoria, have been shut down after they were found to constitute a health threat, the Department of Labour said on Monday.
Department spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi said the Crime Investigation Department (CID) building was shut down on Friday for contravening the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
”The inspectors also revealed the building as ‘threatening or likely to threaten the health and safety of those who use it’,” she said.
According to the prohibition notice issued, the use of the CID building as offices was prohibited because the ceilings were in a poor state due to water leaks. The water leaks had also reached the electrical wiring.
”The walls of the building were also found to have huge cracks that posed danger to workers and clients,” she said.
In terms of the order, the SAPS is also required to obtain a certificate of compliance for electricity installation.
Sigabi said the condition of the CID building left her department with no choice but to stop its continued use.
”We had to do it in the interest of the personnel in that office as well as clients that use the building. The building just did not meet the required standards at all,” she said.
The closure of SAPS offices comes barely three months after a similar prohibition order was served on the South African National Defence Force after complaints of fuel leakages at the Wallmansthal military base north of Pretoria were received, said Sigabi. — Sapa