Litter, broken paving and dry fountains still surround Tshwane’s City Hall after a controversial multimillion-rand project.
Overgrown grass, a pile of rubble and bricks and an empty fountain is, apparently, what the ratepayers of Tshwane got for the R63 million the council allegedly spent on refurbishing the symbolic seat of municipal government in the city.
The Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Associations (FAK) has demanded a list of the construction work done on City Hall as there is little visible change.
The security guards said they were not allowed to talk about City Hall but that the inside of the building was in better condition than the outside.
Litter hung from the fence that was patched with wire and there is graffiti on one statue.
‘Beacon of disintegration and deterioration’
FAK head of national projects Barry Müller said: “Almost R63 million tax money has been wasted. The City Hall was built in 1935, but today it stands on Paul Kruger Street as a beacon of disintegration and deterioration, and the FAK demands better care be taken of this historical treasure.”
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Müller said shortly after the news broke, the metro convened a council meeting to clear up what the money was spent on.
‘Waste’ of public funds
“It left more questions than answers. According to the metro, R1.8 million, for example, was spent on paving on the grounds, but there are piles of bricks at the entrance to City Hall and paving that has been lifted.
“A further R1.6 million was spent on plumbing and the drainage system, but at the foot of Chief Tshwane’s statue is only an empty, dry fountain.”
FAK head of operations: heritage risks Leonie Marais said: “For the FAK, it is not only about the waste of public funds but also the sometimes irreversible damage done to heritage buildings.”
The city did not want to respond to FAK’s allegations. DA Tshwane caucus leader Cilliers Brink said the damage and misspending occurred during the last ANC administration.
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