Commission spends millions on unoccupied building
The Competition Commission has for almost a year been paying R890 000 per month to lease an office block in Pretoria that it is yet to occupy.
A Sunday Times report says in March last year, the commission entered a lease agreement for additional office space at the Department of Trade, Industry & Competition campus in Sunnyside, Pretoria.
According to its 2023/2024 annual report, the duration of the lease is three years and entails payment of R34.5m.
By the end of February, the commission would have paid almost R10m for an empty office block – which sources in the commission describe as fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
Competition Commission spokesperson Siyabulela Makunga acknowledged the entity has been paying R890 000 a month in rent since April 2024 but had yet to use the offices because renovations were required.
He said the commission had needed more space because it had hired more staff.
‘The commission took occupation of the building … for the purpose of reconfiguration and refurbishment of the building. Since then, demolition of the existing partitioning in the building has been completed.’
The process of appointing someone to carry out the next step of renovation ‘is currently at the contracting stage’.
Makunga would not comment on how long this work was expected to take, or when staff might move in. The commission will spend a further R12.1m on the reconfiguration and refurbishment of the building.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
