The site of the old Bank of Lisbon building in the Joburg inner city swallows more than R2m of taxpayers’ money every year.
The property on Pixley Ka Isaka Seme Street, near the Joburg Library, has turned into a large hole, as the 31-storey building, imploded six years ago, had basement parking.
The Gauteng provincial government has spent R8.5m in three years on 24-hour security at the site.
The building, which housed the Gauteng health, human settlements and co-operative governance departments, caught fire in September 2018. Three firefighters died trying to contain the blaze. The structure was declared unsafe and demolished in November 2019.
The Gauteng infrastructure development department, which manages all provincial government buildings, said it started providing security in June 2022 after receiving a written complaint over illegal dumping and squatters living on the site.
Spokesperson Theo Nkonki said guarding the property was a necessary obligation for the department, which spent about R200,000 a month “on 24-hour security personnel, monitoring, perimeter protection, fencing and routine inspections and patrols”.
Nkonki said: “The plans to redevelop the site have not been abandoned. However, the approach has evolved. Given the scale of redevelopment required in the CBD and fiscal constraints facing the government, the province is pursuing a public-private partnership transaction model.”
— Theo Nkonki, Gauteng infrastructure development spokesperson
“These measures are necessary to ensure the safety of the public and to prevent illegal occupation, vandalism and criminal activity there,” he said.
The site is fenced, and guards secure the gate.
Nkonki said redevelopment plans were “yet to be finalised”.
Describing the costs as unavoidable, he said leaving unused government-owned properties unsecured would expose them to illegal occupation, vandalism and criminal activity and expose the public to potential safety hazards.
Joburg architect Heather Dodd, who is familiar with the site, said it could be better used as a public space, a park or an amphitheatre.
“If you look at the state of the pavement near the site, someone is more likely to break their ankle walking around it because half the pavement is missing.”
Dodd said she thought the site was adequately secured by the fence.
“It’s not justifiable having full-time guards there ... if you had somebody who went past there once a day to ensure that there was nothing untoward happening, that would be fine.”
She said it was highly unlikely a new building would be constructed on the site anytime soon.
“It wouldn’t be justifiable while there are other empty [government] buildings around,” she said.
Several investigations were conducted after the fire, with then-premier David Makhura pledging to make the findings public. That has yet to happen.
On previously announced plans to redevelop the site, Nkonki said: “The plans to redevelop the site have not been abandoned. However, the approach has evolved. Given the scale of redevelopment required in the CBD and fiscal constraints facing the government, the province is pursuing a public-private partnership transaction model.”
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