Tshwane City Hall: R100‚000 bill for former Tshwane mayor's bathroom tiles

The City of Tshwane is still reeling from shock after it uncovered a R100-million project that was messed up by the previous administration.

New mayor Solly Msimanga took journalists on an exclusive tour of the Tshwane City Hall in the city centre on Thursday afternoon.

His predecessor‚ Kgosientso Ramokgopa‚ approved the renovation of the City Hall to house the mayor and his staff. But this multimillion rand project resulted in some of the most ridiculous things ever done in construction.

The walls were painted long before the work of fixing the hall was completed. Technicians then tried installing smoke detectors and cameras but could not finish their work - living proof of the unqualified project manager who was overseeing the work.

Workers then decided to put cement over a wooden floor‚ something that left journalists confused.

In the main hall‚ besides the mess on the floor and the organ‚ the seats in the balcony were all stolen. Most door handles‚ all made of brass‚ were stolen.
That is just on the first floor. On the second floor computer servers have been placed directly facing sunlight and holes were drilled to squeeze cables through the walls which compromised the structural integrity of the building.

Then‚ in the most beautiful room in the building - the old Pretoria Council Chamber - workers decided to paint on top of huge heritage paintings‚ messing up paintings which have been there for decades.

Pieter de Necker‚ senior strategic executive specialist in the mayor's office expressed the pain.

"Six companies withdrew their intentions to shoot films in this room. One of them wanted to shoot Mandela's Rivonia trial but had to cancel due to the kind of work that was done here‚" he said.

De Necker said less damage had been done here than in other rooms.

Just for the mayor bathroom tiles‚ the city was billed R100‚000. The walls leading to his office have wall paper for which the city was charged R8‚000 a metre [correct]. For the lousily-fitted wallpaper the city totally spent about R200‚000.

Some of the glass doors were not properly measured and workers just used whatever was available to close the gaps on top.

Ordinary paint on the walls of the corridors has spikes. If you were to rub your shoulder on it‚ 80% of your skin will peel off. Kitchen furniture was bought‚ somewhat cheaply and‚ strangely‚ is blue.

Workers installed the cupboards before putting in a dishwasher. The mess left is unbelievable. The also invoiced the city for kitchen appliances which were all bought in pairs and none of them was found when the new administration took over.

In the mayor's dining room‚ there is a strange piece of furniture belonging to a zoo.

“This comes from Limpopo. We don't know what it was supposed to do in the dining room‚” said de Necker.

In the boardroom‚ there is piece of a round table imported from Korea. It has been damaged by the shoddy work done on the roof. There is also a glass table with a piece of wood as the stand. The city coughed up R60‚000 for it.

“We will get to the bottom of this. People will have to be held accountable‚” Msimanga vowed as journalists stood in disbelief of what they had seen.