Licensing services suspension could be the tip of the iceberg for Akasia disruptions

Did the City of Tshwane botch the relocation of services at Station Square in Akasia, or was the request for free rent the real issue? A property investment and letting company with interests in Tshwane has hit back at the fiasco surrounding the suspension of government services at Station Square in Akasia. Tshwane roads and transport MMC Tlangi Mogale confirmed late last month that licensing services were halted at the Station Square Licensing Centre. She said the decision followed developments in ongoing litigation concerning the centre’s premises. The city is renovating Tshiamo Centre in Pretoria North to accommodate the licensing services previously provided at Station Square. However, executive manager at SKG Properties, Riana Odendaal-Botha, told The Citizen that Mogale’s explanation about litigation and renovations does not tell the full story. Procurement processes According to Odendaal-Botha, the City of Tshwane has been trying to secure alternative accommodation for the departments occupying Station Square, including the licensing department, since December 2025. She said that SKG Properties is particularly concerned about the history of the city’s procurement processes for alternative municipal accommodation, including accommodation for the departments currently occupying Station Square, and the repeated challenges they have brought against those processes. “Since October 2025, we have challenged the succession of the city’s accommodation tenders, including Tenders GPM 19 and GPM 21, which were specifically intended to secure alternative accommodation for the departments currently occupying Station Square. “Our challenges have included formal objections and appeals, High Court proceedings and a referral of the city’s procurement conduct to the Public Protector,” Odendaal-Botha said. Part of this challenge was a requirement that landlords provide the accommodation free of charge for five years, something SKG Properties said was not feasible for commercially minded private landlords. Services halt Odendaal-Botha said they regard this as a serious procurement defect. “Instead of addressing our objections and implementing a proper procurement process to secure suitable alternative accommodation for these departments, the city has now adopted an ill-conceived relocation plan,” she added. She said these have adverse consequences, including the temporary suspension of motor vehicle registration, motor vehicle licence renewals, driving licences, card renewals, and learner’s licence testing services. But Odendaal-Botha said the suspension of licensing services is only the tip of the iceberg. “Station Square also accommodated the Wonderboom Municipal Court and Tshwane Metro Police operations,” Odendaal-Botha said. “There are essential public-facing services which members of the public rely on and require access to,” she emphasised. She explained that each has specialised requirements, including approved licensing facilities, courtrooms, holding cells, secure firearm storage, vehicle facilities, and statutory safety approvals. “They cannot simply be relocated into any available building,” Odendaal-Botha said. ‘Downplaying consequences’ Odendaal-Botha said the city appears to be downplaying both the adverse consequences already unfolding and those that will undoubtedly follow. “More fundamentally, it appears that the city’s property management and procurement decisions are driving the relocation of these departments, when it should be the other way around. “The starting point should be the needs and operational requirements of the departments themselves and the continued provision of essential services to the public. “Significantly, the city’s apparent haste to relocate these departments into premises which it owns or controls, stands in stark contrast to its own procurement processes for alternative accommodation for the departments occupying Station Square. “It also acknowledged that it could not simply vacate Station Square without securing alternative accommodation, as interruption of those services would adversely affect members of the public,” Odendaal-Botha said. The Citizen contacted the city for comment on these claims but had not received a response by the time of publication. The city’s response will be published once received. Challenged tenders On 12 December 2025, the City of Tshwane issued Tender GPM 19 specifically to secure alternative accommodation in Region 1 for the departments occupying Station Square, requiring private landlords to provide premises, parking and operational services for five years at no rental or operational cost to the city. Odendaal-Botha said SKG Properties opposed the tender because it saw serious defects in its specifications and procurement requirements. The Citizen has seen the formal objection as part of the company’s court challenge to Tender GPM 19. Among other concerns, it contested the requirement that it not receive rent for five years. “Our client is the owner of property capable of satisfying the physical and functional requirements of the tender, but, like all commercially minded private landlords, is precluded from participating in the tender by the unlawful gatekeeper requirements that the property be provided at a zero rental and that the landlord bear all installation and related costs,” their submissions read. Tender withdrawal Odendaal-Botha said that following their objections and appeal, the city withdrew the tender on 19 February 2026. “Following the withdrawal of Tender GPM 19, the city issued Tender GPM 21 on 19 February 2026. “The tender retained substantially the same requirements which we had challenged under GPM 19.” SKG Properties lodged formal objections and an appeal again, and instituted proceedings in the High Court. ‘Why?’ Odendaal-Botha said that the point is not simply that the tenders were withdrawn and challenged. “It is why the city has still not explained what proper and workable arrangements have been made to secure suitable alternative accommodation for these departments, despite having been repeatedly advised of our objections to its procurement processes. “As we see it, there appears to be no coherent relocation plan at all,” Odendaal-Botha said.