The North West Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Roads has lauded the completion of a special maintenance project between Setlagole and Delareyville at the Tswaing Local Municipality.
The committee visited the project as part of an oversight week programme in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District which is expected to end on Friday.
According to the committee, the oversight week initiative is intended to strengthen legislative oversight, enhance public participation, promote accountability and transparency in government operations.
The chairperson of the committee Paul Sebegoe told YOU FM Newshour that the project will benefit other communities of Geysdorp and Delareyville and connect Delareyville with Madibogo and Setlagole villages.
“It took us an average of 1-hour and 20 minutes to travel back to Mahikeng using the same road.
That’s what is more important in terms of that road, and we really want to appreciate, because in a sense it attracts economic investment because people know that it is convenient and it is faster to deliver goods, particularly perishable goods.
It’s one of the options that people look into,” said Sebegoe.
Sebegoe has however raised a concern about the delays in the commencement of the project by community members.
“This project was supposed to start on March 1, 2022, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2023.
But because of a revised completion date it went up until August 25, 2025, but at least we are pleased it was handed over a month earlier than the agreed completion date.
We must however raise our concern with the delays that were because of a non-performance of the contractor in the main.
The main contractor who was appointed to work on the project abandoned the site, second to that the contractor came up with creative ways he thought will help speed up the completion of the project and save him money, but the plan seems to have basically failed,” elaborated Sebegoe.
The committee has welcomed the intervention of the sub-contractor who received the deed of cession, transferring the rights of the initial contractor to him to provide the service with greater capacity.
The department granted consent as part of a catch-up plan to complete the work.
“That sub-contractor moved with a necessary speed to complete this project which we really appreciate because he handed over the project a month earlier than agreed period and we regard this as a lesson to learn,” remarked the chairperson.
Furthermore, Sebegoe expressed concern over contractors who fail to complete projects.
“We have made it very clear, repeatedly to several of the projects, that if the contractor is unable to complete a job on time, it affects our budget, the credibility of the department, and relationships with communities,” warned Sebegoe.
