Note to Broadcasters: Please find attached soundbites in English by Freddy Sonakile
The DA is concerned by the slow pace of the project to upgrade the Nelson Mandela Drive road in Mahikeng. This is the busiest road in Mahikeng and an economic transport arterial road, carrying large volumes of traffic, especially during peak hours.
The department appointed Khosivuyo Logistics CC last year to carry out special maintenance along a 4km stretch of the Nelson Mandela Drive road between Danville and Dada Motors, with a contract value of R47 million. (See pictures here and here)
The department’s own project schedule indicates that the project is already running behind schedule. To date, the contractor, as per the project plan, should now be in the third section of the road, yet the first section is still far from completion. (See schedule)
Recent reports indicate that the contractor was under-quoted for the project and that a request for a variation order is being considered. It shows that neither the department nor the contractor knew the full extent of the project scope and that the bill of quantities was not thoroughly identified before submitting the bid or awarding the contract. The request for a variation order now, almost a year into the project, leaves more questions than answers, especially considering the scope of the project that should have been completed by now.
The delays and other problems with this Mahikeng project necessitate closer project monitoring, evaluation, and oversight.
The DA will write to MEC Gaoage Molapisi, requesting that he table a detailed report in the North West Legislature on the concerns surrounding this project. Specifically, the disclosure on the bid process and adjudication committee, why a variation order is needed, the additional value of the variation, the reasons for the delays, who the project manager is, what the reasons are for the delay in completing the different phases of the project and what penalties the department is entitled to levy against the contractor for the delays.
This road project in Mahikeng is one of nine special maintenance and re-gravelling investment projects launched by the Department of Public Works and Roads in November last year, with a budgeted cost of R316 million. We will also request a detailed update on each of the other eight projects.