01 Jul 2013

Some North West District (NWD) councillors have expressed disappointment at the delay in the construction of the Old Thamalakane Bridge.

The councillors registered their concern after the North West District commissioner, Ms Bernadette Malala, had informed them that the project was only six per cent done and that the flooding Thamalakane River was a hindrance. 

The P75 million project was awarded to Colic Construction Company, which started work on January 8 this year with the completion date set for April 7, 2014.

The civic leaders demanded to know if the contractor would deliver a quality project given that work had been going on for seven months yet there was no noticeable progress.

Cllr Pelokgale Monyame said the council had engineering experts who could assess progress and recommend to the council for action to be taken before the damage any damage could go far.

Cllr Monyame said he doubted if the contractor would do a good job and dismissed the ‘flooding’ excuse because the company started the project well before the river had started to flood.

Cllr Galaletsang Mhapha said he had visited the project several times and had since concluded that the contractor was slow. As such the council should take the responsibility and inform itself about the status of the project.

Regarding the Matswhane clinic project, the councillors still registered their concerned after being told that although it was was100 per cent complete, the clinic would not be opened to the public because it had to wait until the defects liability period was over.

They said they had been told the same story every year and thus questioned if the clinic would ever be opened to the public.

The project started in August 2008 and was expected to have been done by June 2009, while the revised completion date was July 2011.

Cllr Monyame complained that the residents would never access health services nearer as expected because the project seemed to have come to nothing, adding that the liability period was supposed to be six months. “Why is this contractor given so many years?” he asked.

On other issues, Cllr Allen Sokwe complained about the drilling of Kaure settlement borehole,  which was said to be zero per cent complete. It was also reported that the tender for the drilling of the promised borehole was opened on March 22, 2013 and only one bidder had tendered.

It was resolved that direct tender be carried out to fast-track the award of the tender. The councillor said the communities had been promised the borehole a long time ago as they were assisted with livestock and a borehole in 2000.

“To my surprise, the project has not started,” he said, adding that he suspected irregularities, particularly because of lack of transparency.

Cllr Sokwe noted that government was making efforts to uplift the lives of people in the remote areas but some people were sleeping on their job. He requested the relevant authority to speed up the project for the benefit of the communities.

Councillors also complained about the status of Sehithwa/Shakawe road noting that it posed a danger to drives due to its narrowness and potholes. ENDS