Parliament, Friday, 20 September 2024 – Limpopo’s Permanent Delegates to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and their provincial counterparts raised serious concerns about contractors who habitually abandon projects before completion.
According to the joint delegation, this practice escalates budgets, especially when a provincial government or municipality appoints another contractor to continue with the work. The delegation also found that vandalism at abandoned projects is a major source of financial setbacks.
Yesterday, the joint delegation visited six projects in the Waterberg District Municipality - the wastewater works in Thabo Mbeki Township, road construction in Segole 1 and 2, the Bakenberg water projects, and Valtyn Moshate Local Stadium. Work on the road construction project is underway and will be completed by early next year.
The contractor has abandoned the Valtyn Moshate Local Stadium project for over five years, and the Mogalakwena Local Municipality has already spent R38 million on it. The Special Investigating Unit investigated the project and recommended that the implicated officials be sanctioned. The joint delegation recommended that all spheres of government work together to resuscitate the project in the interest of the broader community.
It is against this backdrop that the joint delegation is of the view that contractors who abandon projects in the middle should be blacklisted from doing business with any sphere of government.
Yesterday’s visits to the Waterberg district marked the end of the in-loco inspections of delayed, incomplete, and abandoned provincial and municipal infrastructure projects. The oversight visits are part of the NCOP Provincial Week programme. The joint delegation will consolidate a report today with recommendations to address the challenges identified over the past three days.
ISSUED BY PARLIAMENT COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE LEADER OF THE DELEGATION, MR MALESELA MOKWELE.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Mr Justice Molafo
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Email: jmolafo@parliament.gov.za
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