Picture: The construction of the Nelson Mandela Drive road project underway

By OBAKENG MAJE

The North West Department of Public Works and Roads said the upgrade of the Nelson Mandela Drive in Mahikeng will be completed in December 2023. This comes after the North West delegation of the NCOP conducted the oversight visit and had a consultative engagement with the department over the controversy surrounding the project.

Last year, the North West Department of Public Works and Roads appointed Khosivuyo Logistics CC to execute special maintenance along a 4km stretch of the Nelson Mandela Drive between Danville and Dada Motors with a contract value of R47 million.

The Whip of the North West’s permanent delegates to the NCOP, Eric Landsman said, however, that the controversy about this project began when its implementation had numerous challenges. Landsman further said the contractor should be in the third section of the road according to the project plan.

“Furthermore, it was reported that, the contractor was under-quoted for this project and that a request for a variation order has since been considered. It appears that neither the department nor the contractor knew the full extent of the project scope and that the bill of quantities was not thoroughly identified before submitting the bid or awarding the contract.

“This came into realisation after almost a year into the project. We also heard that, it was reported that the interruptions were due to the contractor not having the necessary machinery and equipment to complete the project as well as disruptions that were caused by the community at the project site,” he said.

Landsman added that, the delegation prioritised the project to understand the cause of delays and other complications, amongst the other key issues. He said they needed it after a dark cloud of controversy and negative reporting about this and other very important socio-economic infrastructure projects that are still under construction.

“Some of them have taken a very long time before they could see the light of day regarding the implementation of construction, some are beginning to start and, regrettably, some are still on the table waiting to be started. The Nelson Mandela Drive is the busiest road in Mahikeng and an economic transport arterial road, which carries large volumes of traffic, especially during peak hours, and the upgrading of this road includes refurbishment,” said Landsman.

He said they were all happy and welcomed the report. Landsman said they are looking forward to its completion.

“We are here to understand the challenges that delay the completion of all the infrastructure development projects that are much needed for the betterment of all the people of North West,” he said.

Meanwhile, the acting North West Premier, Nono Maloyi assured the delegation about the completion of the Nelson Mandela Drive in December 2023.

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