From a police training ground to a scrapyard

The Centurion Traffic Training Centre, once key for the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD), has turned into a disorganised scrapyard for broken cars that taxpayers still subsidise.

Located near Lyttelton Manor in Centurion, Gauteng, BusinessTech visited the once-central hub for driving training for members of the TMPD, which was vacated due to a sinkhole.

Without any intervention to restore it, it is now reminiscent of a scrapyard or dump, which is locked at every point yet manned by one private security guard on site.

“It has been like this since I started six months ago. People often come to the gate thinking it is still operational,” said the guard.

He said that due to the large number of scrap cars on the property, it has caught the eye of criminals wanting to strip parts for resale.

The large property is stacked with half-stripped cars, many of which are being swallowed by overgrown vegetation. The infrastructure on the property is deteriorating, with one of the main roofs caved in.

However, the deterioration was seemingly rapid, with Google Maps imagery from 2023 and May 2024 showing the property in a decent state.

What happened to it?

The City of Tshwane could not provide details about what happened to the site and why it has deteriorated to the current level.

BusinessTech was in contact with the Tshwane MMC for Roads and Transport and the Community Safety office.

We were assured of receiving a report on the site, which they said was completed, but it never happened. Despite numerous follow ups, communication went cold.

BusinessTech spoke to Freedom Front Plus’ Wesley Jacobs, a councillor from the area, who said that apart from the unsightly property, it also poses a huge risk of attracting criminals to the area.

Jacobs explained that a small section of the property, which used to be the Region 4 pound, was closed several years ago because it did not meet regulatory requirements.

After its closure, control of that pound was handed over to the breakdown section from Region 3, who began using it as an overflow area for their pound.

Jacobs expressed confusion, asking how it was possible for Region 3’s pound to be compliant while the same location is not compliant for use by Region 4’s TMPD.

The larger part of the property, which is now filled with scrap cars, had previously been used by Region 4’s TMPD as an academy for departmental driver training.

It is a city-owned property, giving TMPD permission to use it for that purpose. However, a large sinkhole formed on the property, which forced the academy to vacate the premises.

The Breakdown section of Region 3 is also now using the property to store vehicles and trailers.

“I find it strange that it’s good enough for the Breakdown department of Region 3 to use, but not for the TMPD department of Region 4 to use,” said Jacobs.

He said that allowing the latter “would allow them to effectively deal with the large influx of illegal trader goods, the impounding of vehicles and illegal trailers, all of which are large issues in our region.”

He added that this “is revenue for the city but cannot be addressed because the TMPD in Region 4 simply do not have the facilities allocated to them to enforce law enforcement and bylaws effectively. “

It is alleged that the business next door was interested in buying the property and was busy engaging with the city. However, that process came to a halt.

Jacobs explained that the prevalent security guard means that “there is still funding regarding the property and its safeguarding.”

“Apart from looking unsightly, it also poses a huge risk of attracting criminals to the area,” said Jacobs.

“In my opinion, security needs to be stepped up if this is the case, due to the risk of parts or any inventory, which was impounded, could be stolen or vandalised – holding the city financially responsible.”

“This is a position which we definitely cannot afford to be in due to our obvious financial situation,” he added.

Images of the Centurion Traffic Training Centre now