Parliament - The Department of Public Works has maintained that security equipment were in good condition, amid a probe into security measures at Parliament after a senior staffer shot himself at his parliamentary office.
The department and police ministry appeared before Parliament's portfolio committee on police on Wednesday, where they briefed MPs on security measures following the incident of 14 September.
The department's director general Sam Vukela told the committee that the department appointed contractors to maintain the security equipment around the Precinct on a daily basis.
“The last preventative maintenance services was carried in July 2018. The current maintenance contract was awarded on 1 November 2016 to EOH Technologies for a period of 36 months. Before this contract expires, there will be another maintenance contract in place” said Vukela.
Vukela told the committee that in preparation for State of the Nation Address 2018, the department installed 98 additional cameras and four turnstiles in an effort to beef up the security.
SAPS has however revealed some deficiencies within Parliament which include metal detectors, x-ray machines and access control mechanism that are out of order.
Lennox Garane, 57 shot himself in his office at Parliament precinct, and left a note claiming that his suicide was a protest against 20 months of bullying and ill-treatment.
SAPS’s Leon Rabie said Garane was able to enter the building without his bag being placed on the x-ray detector.