12 May 2015

Local government and rural development assistant minister, Mr Frans Van Der Westhuizen, has expressed disappointment at the slow progress of the Letlhakeng internal roads project.

Mr Van Der Westhuizen expressed disappointment during a briefing by the contractor after it emerged that the project was at 13 per cent against a planned 58 per cent.

The delay was reportedly caused by a disagreement between the consultant and the contractor on the construction method. It was also revealed that the delay necessitated a request for a 12 months extension on the initial period.

“This is a project for the community, and we cannot allow your differences to drag the project because at the end of the day it will be the government that suffers due to cost overruns and delayed delivery to the people,” he said.

The assistant minister said because both the contractor and the consultant had qualified people on the job, it was unexpected for them to take up a year disagreeing on the method of construction.

He said government was concerned about the slow projects implementation across the country, hence the need to use resources and funds prudently.“In recent years, government funding of projects had been decreasing annually, so we must ensure that implementers of approved projects deliver quality projects on time and within budget,” he said.

Mr Van Der Westhuizen stated that the Letlhakeng project was one of the worst projects around, and accused the contractor of not keeping their promise. This was after it emerged that the contractor has reported a lower percentage progress than the one they reported in the last briefing.

He also stressed that the Kweneng District Council’s executive leadership should take it upon themselves to ensure that the projects is completed on time. He was raising this concern after it emerged that the executive has delegated their subordinates for the briefing.

The assistant minister however promised to keep visiting the project regularly to ensure the contractor deliver on time.

The acting council secretary for Kweneng, Mr Tsholofelo Molaodi also raised a concern on the slow progress, saying as the council, they wanted to see the ongoing projects completed before new projects could be started.
He said the slow project implementation makes it difficult for them to start other projects and pleaded with the stakeholders to come up with a strategy to speed up the project.

The contractor, he said, had promised them that between July and September they would be surfacing the roads before starting on the streetlights and the storm water drainage.

For his part, Letlhakeng Sub District council chairperson, Cllr Tlotlo Batlhophi appreciated the assistant minister’s visit, saying it would hopefully spur the contractor to speed up the project.

He said the community expects the road to be completed in time as promised, and that failure to do so would put government in a bad light.

Mr Batlhophi also advised the contractor that doing a shoddy job would not augur well for them as it would tarnish their image and affect their chances of landing more tenders in the future. ENDS