By OBAKENG MAJE
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West said it is time for accountability in Mahikeng’s chaotic Nelson Mandela Road Project. The DA said it demands answers on the never-ending Nelson Mandela Road Project in Mahikeng.
DA Caucus Leader in the North West Provincial Legislature (NWPL), Freddy Sonakile said a 4km stretch of the road in the middle of Mahikeng, connecting to Botswana, is a critical economic route, but has been the epicentre of chaos. Sonakile further said the original agreement was to upgrade the road within three months.
“After an extension period was given, the North West MEC for Public Works and Roads MEC, Saliva Molapisi and the acting North West Premier, Nono Maloyi, were both on record stating that the road would be completed by December 2023.
“Maloyi made further promises in his 2024 State of the Province Address (SOPA) that he would follow up on the progress of the dubious road construction. The initial budget allocated for this project was R47 million. However, through a variation order, the amount has now almost doubled to R79 million,” he said.
Sonakile added that, despite the ballooning figures, the road remains incomplete with no signs of completion in sight. He said to make matters worse, workers have recently downed tools for a week because they did not receive payments.
“Traffic control on this busy road is a nightmare and the potholes have increased as motorists attempt daily to navigate between the chaos. Mostly opting to use internal Golf View or CBD roads to avoid congestion, increasing the damage to road surface on those roads that are not made to carry the increased heavy traffic.
“The road is also the main entrance to Mahikeng Mall, which is also undergoing construction, creating even more chaos. The deliberate delays and failure to deliver a proper road have a negative impact on investor confidence in the town,” said Sonakile.
He said the failure to deliver basic services, led to the departure of Clover Company in neighbouring Lichtenburg town, leaving hundreds unemployed. Sonakile said one would have thought that ANC comrades would have learned their lesson.
“We will also approach the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) in North West to request an inquiry into the awarding of the contract, the subsequent variation order, and the reason why the construction of the road remains incomplete after a year.
“The DA will also request the SIU to investigate the roles of departmental officials, including the Head of Department (HOD), Moss Kgantsi in this dubious road project,” he said.
Sonakile said the ANC government is once again making it clear that they have no appetite to deliver proper infrastructure in the North West.
Meanwhile, the North West Department of Public Works and Roads spokesperson, Lerato Gambu said: “The department is aware and can confirm that workers have resumed work and implementation of the road project is going as planned. In any working environment, there are labour disputes.
“In this case, there were issues that had to do with compensation of employees, which we have established that the contractor had not paid employees though we had paid for services rendered.”
Gambu said to this date, this matter has been attended to decisively. He said the progress registered on the project to date is over 80%.
“We are confident that by the end of May 2024, the road will be completed. Obviously with the consideration that like any other project, there will be outstanding issues that find expression in the snack list.
“But, the road will be open, smooth and trafficable. The department will continue its endeavour to improve the quality of the road network in the province. We have on numerous occasions indicated that the road project initially did not consider the culverts, which run beneath the road to avoid damage by water during heavy rain,” said Gambu.
He said the contractor also struggled with supply and delivery of culverts, which added to the delay. Gambu said they have also witnessed rains that led to flooding of the excavated area thereby not able to proceed until the water has subsided.
TaungDailyNews 