Graders – AbaQulusi keeps quiet

ABAQULUSI Municipality has not yet told the Vryheid Herald anything about the R25-million contract for the hire of four road graders, nor why the municipality is insisting that the Promotion of Access of Information Act be followed before it will.

A contract was signed by the Acting Municipal Manager, NN Sibisi, and Aqua Transport and Plant Hire in December last year, for the hire of four graders for a period of three years. The municipality has refused to answer any questions about this contract.

It has been established from residents that graders have been seen in AbaQulusi’s various townships – one in Mondlo, one in Hlobane and two in Louwsburg. The one grader in Louwsburg has been idle, standing near the Police Station, for days. It is not known if the municipality is being charged for this idle time.

Nor is it known how the work done by the graders is assigned, monitored and authorised. It is hard to believe that someone in the Engineering Department is travelling from one end of the municipality (Louwsburg) to the other (Mondlo) every day to carry out this task. It is hard to believe that a small township like Louwsburg warrants two graders, especially graders limited to working on municipal roads only.

Nor is it known why the one remaining grader owned by the municipality is standing idle in the yard of the municipal stores.