Removal of plant waste at President’s dam delayed
The plant waste removal on the banks of President's dam is hampered due to documents being lost.
President’s dam’s clean-up started on July 14 when reeds and water Hyacinths were removed from the water and put on the banks of the river to dry.
Chris Mthombeni, project manager responsible for water bodies in Ekurhuleni, said at the time that the plant waste would be removed as soon as it was dry enough.
When asked why the waste had not been removed yet he said the tender documents needed to remove the plant litter was sent to the Chief Procurement Offices (CPO) where it was misplaced.
“Our offices opened on Monday (January 5) and we are in the process of searching for the documents,” says Mthombeni.
If the documents cannot be found, Mthombeni and his team would have to start again by re-advertising the tender and sending the new documents to the CPO again.
If this is the case, Mthombeni says it will take around a month before the waste can be removed.
Ward councillor Ramesh Sheodin says that in the municipality everything is done by tender to prevent corruption.
“When the municipality advertises the tender it gives people opportunities to give a price to remove the dried up reeds and water Hyacinths and the lowest price is then accepted, provided the tenderer is capable of doing the job,” says Sheodin.
“I don’t understand how a tender document can get lost,” he adds.
Sheodin says he is trying to follow up with the council concerning the removal of the water Hyacinths as the few that were left there have already multiplied.
“I am not happy with the clean-up of the lake.”
