Community demands answers about incomplete roads projects in eMbalenhle
Donald Green, municipal spokesman, said the municipal leadership and top management held a mayoral oversight visit two weeks ago to assess and monitor the progress on grant-funded projects and a detailed report was received on various projects.
Motorists and community members want to know what is happened to the construction of Albert Luthuli Drive and the Ext 1 road that was left incomplete by the contractor that was appointed by the Govan Mbeki Municipality.
They claim that it has been two years since these roads were left incomplete without explanation.
“We know these projects were funded through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG). What did Govan Mbeki Municipality tell the Auditor-General about that expenditure?” asked Sipho Mdlolo, a resident of eMbalenhle.
“These unusable roads daily damage our vehicles.
“The road that passes between Ext 18 and 20 was usable before the municipality and its incompetent contractor excavated it. Now it turns into a dam when it rains.
“We are approaching summer and it is going to rain. There will again be a conflict between us and the minibus taxis because they will not be able to travel on that road,” said Mdlolo.
Some motorists said they have to buy vehicle spares almost weekly because of damages when they have to travel on these roads.
The municipality previously said the material on site to fix the roads was paid directly to the suppliers and the amount will be determined based on the work to be re-done on the layer works.
The municipality might have to recover the money through legal processes, guarantees and insurance payouts.
The cost to be recovered will only be known once the new contractor has been appointed and the actual cost of the works is known.
The mayor, Nhlakanipho Zuma, previously said it would be ideal if the municipality implements its own projects because they do have capable people for the task.
However, GMM does not have the necessary equipment for road construction work and it would have been too expensive to rent the equipment.
The quickest way to repair the roads was to get credible service providers.
Donald Green, municipal spokesman, said the municipal leadership and top management held a mayoral oversight visit two weeks ago to assess and monitor the progress on grant-funded projects and a detailed report was received on various projects.
Green said an announcement will still be made on the remedial action that will be taken in dealing with the incomplete projects, including the roads.
