A preliminary anti-corruption investigation within the Department of Public Works has raised serious concerns about a R70m lease agreement for office accommodation in Pretoria, prompting calls for an independent probe by the National Treasury.

The report suggests that senior officials may have engineered an artificial urgency to secure a lease for the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), potentially bypassing proper authorisation and procurement processes.

According to the findings, IDAC was initially meant to be housed in a Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) property in Brummeria, following a completed procurement process.However, that arrangement collapsed because the required ministerial concurrence was not obtained.Investigators allege that this failure may have been deliberate in order to justify an alternative lease at 146 Lunnon Road in Pretoria.

The report further describes a “self-created emergency” that was used to justify substituting the original tenant of the building, which had been leased to the now-defunct Department of Public Enterprises.This substitution allegedly allowed officials to proceed with accommodating IDAC instead.Concerns were also raised about the tender process itself.Bid Evaluation Committees reportedly recommended cancelling the tender on multiple occasions due to non-responsive bidders.Despite this, the National Bid Adjudication Committee approved the award to All Top Properties for approximately R69.5m.

Investigators also noted that the winning bidder was non-compliant with Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) requirements at the time of the bid.

While no public funds have yet been disbursed because the lease only becomes active once occupation begins, the report warns that the state may still face financial exposure if legal action is taken by the landlord.

In response, Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson has expressed concern and approached National Treasury to guide an independent investigation, emphasising the need to hold all responsible officials accountable rather than relying solely on internal findings.