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Johannesburg – Department of Human Settlements employees were held "hostage" by its outsourced security company on Thursday morning at their Johannesburg offices.
Department spokesperson Keith Khoza said security guards from a company known to News24 had barricaded the entrance and were refusing anyone entry or exit.
"The security was preventing people from going in and out. They want their money owed."
Khoza explained that the security company was one of four that were outsourced by the department to provide protection in cases of land and property invasions.
"The reality is that we can’t predict when we will need them," he said, which made it difficult to budget for it.
"The companies agreed to a payment schedule and the company in question was going to be paid next week," he said.
Khoza said they had made payments to all four security companies during the 2016/17 financial year, but conceded that they owed the company millions.
"All they could have done was to just ask for a meeting and we would have explained the situation. They met with the Head of Department, as the head of finance, in an effort to resolve the situation," he said.
