The controversial R500-million lease agreement for new police headquarters - involving a billionaire businessman and police chief Bheki Cele - is on hold.

Public Works Minister Geoff Doidge yesterday said all lease agreements have been frozen until the Special Investigating Unit and the Public Protector complete two separate investigations.

The Times learnt last night that Cele and the SAPS's top brass have been summoned to appear before parliament's portfolio committee on police on September 3, when MPs will grill them about the deal.

Last week the Public Protector launched an official investigation of the deal amid mounting criticism from political parties - some of which described it as "shady".

Insiders say the SIU has also been instructed to give the R500-million deal "high priority".

The Public Protector informed Doidge of its investigation last week after receiving complaints from the Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa and the Freedom Front Plus.

The deal - exposed by the Sunday Times two weeks ago - was to involve moving police headquarters to a building owned by Roux Shabangu at a cost of over R500-million, without normal tender procedures being followed.

The police service's top brass were to move into the new building.

The Sunday Times reported that normal tender procedures were flouted when the deal was finalised.

Public Works spokesman Koketso Sachane said yesterday the decision to put all lease contracts on hold had been taken to facilitate the investigations by the SIU and the Public Protector.

He said: "The decision has nothing to do with the police lease agreement. The minister wants to allow the investigation into the entire lease portfolio and our chain management system a chance.

"This investigation was initiated by the minister after the Auditor General pointed [out] some gaps in our books. The implementation of all lease agreements have been put on hold until an investigation by the SIU and the Public Protector has been completed," Sachane said.

The deal raised questions because it was not put out to tender and because the SAPS signed a 10-year lease with Shabangu despite already having a 10-year lease on its current head office, Wachthuis.

Freedom Front Plus MP Pieter Groenewald - who lodged the complaint with the Public Protector - said: "There is no justification for the procedure which was followed to acquire another building."

Groenewald has also requested an assessment of the need for the move.

"Taxpayers' money will now be used to pay for two rental agreements for buildings for the police.

"Officials who are found to be involved in corruption, regardless of their position or political affiliations, should be prosecuted," he said.

Groenewald said the Public Protector notified him in writing that the matter would hopefully be finalised by mid-September.

COPE spokesman Sipho Ngwema said the investigations should not be confined to the R500-million deal but all other contracts signed by Cele since he took office.

"A thorough investigation should be conducted and if any wrongdoing is found, those implicated should be charged criminally," said Ngwema.

Public Works officials and Cele's claim that the tender was concluded on an urgent basis should also be investigated.

He said the deal - and the arrest of Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika who broke the story - was highly suspicious.

"Someone is very angry that they have been exposed. This deal has raised a lot of questions."

Cindy Chikunga, chairman of parliament's portfolio committee on police, said Cele's appearance before the committee was initially scheduled to discuss the building crisis in the police, but will now include the latest issues.

She said senior police managers who appeared before the committee last month had asked for more time to answer questions about the building of police stations.

DA police spokeswoman Dianne Kohler Barnard said Doidge's announcement had "absolutely vindicated" the Sunday Times report "despite all the comments by the national police commissioner".

She said the SAPS building management unit was thrown out of last month's committee hearing for failing to answer simple questions.

Doidge's announcement that all lease agreements have been frozen follows the SIU's appointment by President Jacob Zuma last week to conduct a multi-departmental probe of procurement practices.