LIMPOPO – Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) chairperson Eric Makondo has called on the Greater Giyani Municipality (GGM) to stop outsourcing pothole patching services, saying there is “no value for money”. He urged the municipality to handle the work internally to reduce costs and ensure better quality control.

Findings highlight poor-quality patchwork

Makondo was speaking during the municipality’s fourth council sitting, held on Thursday in Giyani Community Hall. While presenting a report on MPAC’s work, he highlighted the use of service providers as not cost-effective, noting that the quality of their work was poor.

“The MPAC has noted with concern the condition of roads patched by service providers around Giyani,” he told council.

He said the committee visited several damaged roads, including those in D2, Kremetart, and Section A, and found their condition to be far from satisfactory.

“In some instances, we found that the patched areas were left in such poor condition that, when it rains, water collects in the same spot, creating another pothole on top of the previous one,” he said.

Makondo urges municipality to use own staff

“We find the use of service providers to be not cost-effective. The municipality could achieve better results by using its own internal staff. The MPAC is therefore recommending that in the future, the municipality do away with contractors when it comes to pothole patching,” he said.

Asked by Cllr Tiyani Rabothata whether there was any clause within the municipal governance framework that explicitly prohibits the use of contractors, Makondo replied that their recommendation was not grounded in any specific regulation.

He said it stemmed from the committee’s own observations and practical assessment of the services being rendered by service providers.

MPAC stands firm, cites inefficiency and cost

“From what we have seen and evaluated, there is no value for money in continuing to outsource this service,” Makondo explained. “It is costly, and the work delivered by these contractors is often substandard.

“If you want, we can even take you around to show how poorly patched many of the roads are in the areas we inspected,” he said.

“In our view, the municipality’s own staff is capable of performing this work more efficiently and at a much lower cost than what is currently being spent on external service providers who cannot even deliver the required quality.”

MPAC’s recommendation comes as many streets in D2 and Section A are marred by old, poorly patched potholes, some of which have to be redone after every rainfall because the contractors hired to repair them either deliberately did substandard work to cut costs or simply lacked the necessary skills to do the job properly.