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Public works and infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson has committed to send a team to Nelson Mandela Bay this week to assess the SA Police Service’s infamously rundown barracks in Algoa Park. The police living quarters have been an eyesore for many years, with The Herald reporting on the dire state of the premises in April 2022. In a letter written to Macpherson in June, the DA’s mayoral candidate for the Bay, Retief Odendaal, as well as the party’s Eastern Cape provincial leader Andrew Whitfield and provincial chair Yusuf Cassim, requested urgent intervention. Odendaal said DA leaders visited the barracks on June 3 and were appalled at the condition of the buildings.“The inspection revealed buildings that are unfit for human habitation, with collapsing infrastructure, piles of waste, poor security and unsanitary living conditions that undermine the wellbeing of South African Police Service members.”Macpherson responded to Odendaal on July 8, thanking him for bringing the state of barracks to his attention. “Having reviewed the documentation enclosed in your correspondence, I have instructed that the regional office send a task team to the barracks and that a report is sent to my office within 10 business days on this matter. “Once this report is finalised, I will revert on its findings and the agreed upon action plan.”When a team from The Herald visited the barracks on Sunday, children who live with their parents on the property were playing soccer between the broken garages, with an open manhole cover nearby
