Incomplete roads in eMbalenhle have now become dumping sites
“The quickest way to repair the roads was to get credible service providers.”
Residents in eMbalenhle began to dump garbage on the roads that have not yet been completed by contractors appointed by the Govan Mbeki Municipality.
Some residents alleged that these are the same contractors who have now been awarded a sewer project in Trichardt.
The residents’ reason for dumping rubbish is to voice their dismay about the incomplete roads and to fill them up.
Numerous yards are inaccessible and motorists run the risk of damaging their vehicles on these streets.
“We wonder what is happening to our municipality. How can they appoint someone who doesn’t have even a spade in his house to fix the roads?” asked Mr Sipho Mdluli, a resident.
“We believe these companies are corrupt because they have not even finished the roads in eMbalenhle and yet they now have a sewer project in Trichardt.
“Are they specialising in sewers or roads?”
Mr Mdluli said residents want every tender process to be transparent because they are often surprised to hear that some inexperienced person has been appointed as a contractor.
The residents claim that the refuse placed in the road helps when the roads are muddy.
This makes the roads less slippery and more accessible.
They want to know how much wasteful expenditure did the municipality incur after the appointed contractors failed to complete these roads.
Ridge Times sent an enquiry to the municipal spokesman regarding issues raised by the residents and received a response that the municipality will be able to give an answer to that question only after the appointment of a new contractor.
The material on site was paid directly to the suppliers and will amount will be determined based on the work to be re-done on the layer works.
The municipality may 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 executive mayor of Govan Mbeki Municipality, Mr Nhlakanipho Zuma, previously said the municipality agreed that it would be ideal if the municipality implements its own projects because they do have capable people for the task.
He said, 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.”
According to Mr Zuma,
He said the municipality has set out another bit for new tenders to repair the two roads.
This will be finalised by mid-December.
