South Africa is building 29 new police stations – here’s how much they will cost
The South African Police Service plans to build 29 new police stations over the next four years countrywide, at a budgeted cost of over R2 billion.
The largest of the planned stations – Tafelsig in Mitchells Plain in the Western Cape – carries a cost of R150 million, while the cheapest station will be in Muyexe, Limpopo, at a cost of R25 million.
Stations are built at an average cost of R73.5 million, with the final budget for 26 of the stations already determined. The final cost of the 26 stations is R1.91 billion, and the total for all 29 is expected to exceed R2 billion.
Three stations are expected to be built in the current financial year (2022/23), with six being built next year, 12 in 2024, and nine in 2025/26.
Responding in a written parliamentary Q&A, the police ministry said that planning and design for the 29 stations have already been finalised, and that the projects will be funded from its allocation from National Treasury.
| Location | Cost |
|---|---|
| Eastern Cape | |
| Moyeni | R74 325 917 |
| Huku | R69 605 454 |
| Majola | R34 715 220 |
| Mdeni | R64 219 124 |
| Ntamonde | R68 102 763 |
| Tabase | R64 344 920 |
| Tafalehashe | R68 196 252 |
| Free State | |
| Tshiame (Makgolokweng) | R53 804 712 |
| KwaZulu Natal | |
| Osuthu | R49 113 186 |
| Bhosiki | R34 715 220 |
| Dondotha | R62 542 919 |
| Kwa-Nocomboshe | R73 531 490 |
| Nsuze | R48 952 327 |
| Kilmun | R39 306 054 |
| Mfekayi | R37 746 374 |
| Msinisini | TBD |
| Ntshongwe | TBD |
| Limpopo | |
| Muyexe | R25 572 500 |
| Phaudi | R36 124 684 |
| Ga-Kgatla | R43 110 980 |
| Khubvi | R43 110 980 |
| Moletlane | R43 110 980 |
| Mpumalanga | |
| Dun Donald | R43 110 980 |
| Mariti | R43 110 980 |
| North West | |
| Dwarsberg | R51 144 403 |
| Kanana | R85 618 864 |
| Northern Cape | |
| Riemvasmaak | R42 061 032 |
| Western Cape | |
| Tafelsig | R150 725 484 |
| Makhaza | TBD |
| TOTAL | R1 910 319 799 |
Construction on the Tafelsig Police Station began in 2018 and was expected to be completed in 2021. The region currently falls under the Mitchells Plain precinct and along with surrounding areas has one of the highest rates of violent crime in the country.
Other police stations have been promised in the area, including Makhaza and Samora Machel – which were expected by 2022 and 2023, respectively – but there is no indication in the parliamentary response that the Samora Machel station is on track.
Police minister Bheki Cele has promised interventions in the region for the past five years, and the community has spoken out against his apparent disregard for public safety in the area.
The minister visited Gugulethu on Tuesday (5 July) – another violent crime hotspot – to address public safety concerns in the Western Cape. Community groups expressed their dissatisfaction with the SAPS’ inability to reduce crime in the area.
The Western Cape, particularly the City of Cape Town metro which encompasses Mitchells Plain and other crime-hit areas, has one of the highest rates of violent crime in the country, second only to the Eastern Cape and Nelson Mandela Bay.
The Western Cape government was snubbed by Cele and was not invited to take part in the briefing.
The City of Cape Town has accused Cele of politicising safety and security in the Western Cape and not giving the province the necessary national support.
“The national minister of police has consistently shown his disregard for the Western Cape government by not inviting us to events and engagements when he is in our area,” the city said.
Cele said having the city present was unnecessary because it was a meeting with constituents.
Recruitment drive
The SAPS is also on a recruitment drive to hire additional officers to address the trend of rising crime. Over the past five years, the SAPS headcount has declined by 20,000 to 172,000.
In May 2022, minister Cele said his department plans to rapidly ramp up recruitment – which will include thousands of new officers and bringing older officers back into service.
Cele said the police service plans to add 12,000 new recruits in total. A total of 7,000 new recruits will be enlisted in the 2022/2023 financial year, with a further 5,000 recruits added in the 2023/2024 financial year.
“In addition to the above, 3,000 posts were advertised during the 2021/2022 financial year and the SAPS recruits will undergo training – therefore a total of 10,000 recruits will be trained in 2022,” Cele said.
The training of these recruits is expected to be completed on 15 December 2022, after which they will be deployed across the country.
