Doubts about viability of huge sport complex
The proposed complex is apparently being built for the town which has a population of 521 residents only.
OHRIGSTAD – A contract worth R12 million for a state-of-the-art sports complex was granted earlier this year and is now being questioned.
The proposed complex is apparently being built for the town which has a population of 521 residents only.
An emergency meeting was recently held and a follow-up was scheduled for yesterday. The outcomes are not available yet. The tender documents could also not be provided.
With four months left and over three million spent on site establishment and clearing and only 10 per cent physical progress, some have their doubts and even believe that this is yet another “white elephant”, waiting to make its appearance. This however, is only one of four similar projects that will soon see the light.
After numerous visits to the site, unanswered calls and written questions to engineers, contractors and Greater Tubatse Municipality (GTM) officials, Steelburger/Lydenburg News paid a visit to the municipality to search for answers.
Unable to provide the tender documents, Mr Thabiso Makoena, communications manager at GTM, promised that the the matter would be investigated. “At this stage I can only say that we are planning three more sport complexes like this one. It is important for the people to understand that a complex like this will not only serve the local community, but the whole cluster,” he said.
The paper was informed that a meeting had been arranged the day after the paper’s visit between the municipality and the contractor to clarify certain issues pertaining to the project. A detailed response was promised, but to no avail. Steelburger/Lydenburg News tried several times to get hold of GTM, but to no avail.
In the meantime, the paper managed to meet with various other stakeholders, including members of the steering committee as well as the chief liaison officer and the site supervisor. According to Mr Johan Gouws of the Ohrigstad Rugby Club, also a member of the steering committee, the club approached the Greater Tubatse Municipality approximately a year ago for financial support to help them upgrade their existing rugby field. “We were not able to practice in the dark as there were no lights to the field. We decided to ask GTM for help, but didn’t expect a R12m sport complex,” Gouws said.
According to a document in the paper’s possession the eight-month contract is expected to be completed on December 22, 2014. However, a soccer field with athletics tracks, basketball and netball court, multi club house with change rooms, ablution facilities, storeroom, ticket office, dining hall and tennis court, pit trampoline as well as pools and a security house, still need to be erected – all within four month’s time.
But according to workers of Madipadi Construction, to whom the contract was assigned, everything is under control and they still believe to finish in time. “We hope to complete the job in time,” the chief liaison officer, Mr Willies Ngwatle. He could however not provide the tender documents or the CLO reports which were some of the requirements on site. “People may say there is no progress, but there definitely is. This is big work and the clearance of the site is currently our biggest challenge,” the site supervisor, Mr Lucas Mohlala, said. “From now one we believe to move forward swiftly,” he said.
It furthermore came under Steelburger/Lydenburg News’s attention that the construction slightly deviated from the original construction drawings, but without issuing new plans. Workers of Madipadi Construction admitted these allegations, but said it was not a big difference and that the changes wouldn’t have any significant influence. According to Gouws, they noted that the positioning of the rugby field was unpractical and would have resulted in one team always facing the sun.
“We immediately addressed the issue and asked the engineers to make the necessary alterations in order for the contractors to continue with the work, but until today we haven’t seen any changes made by the engineers,” he said.
According to Eskom, no documents for electricity connection and supply were received from GTM or anyone yet with regards to the upgrading of the complex. “It is impossible to finish all this work in four months’ time. Not even God can do that,”a worker from Eskom, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.
