The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport to take the blame and responsibility for all the incomplete and delayed infrastructure projects across the province.
During a ministerial briefing to members of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) recently, it was revealed in a document that there are currently 26 infrastructure projects that are either incomplete or delayed in Mpumalanga because of the following reasons:
- Poor performance from contractors
- None payment of contractors
- Insufficient budget
- Delayed payment that affected performance of contractors
- Project disruptions from local business forums
- None payment to sub-contractors
Looking at the reasons above, it is obvious that shoddy work by contractors, lack of oversight, and mismanagement by the Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport, are the reasons the province finds itself with incomplete and delayed projects.
Of the 26 incomplete and delayed capital infrastructure projects, 8 of these projects belong to the Department of Education, 3 to the Department of Health, 2 to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, 8 to the Department of Roads and Transport, 3 to the Department of Social Development, and the remaining 2 to other departments.
Some of the incomplete and delayed projects mentioned in the NCOP document include the following:
- The much-awaited Mkhondo Boarding School
- The Mpumalanga Parliamentary Village
- Vaal River Special School in Lekwa
- Middelburg Hospital
- Witbank Hospital Mental Ward
- Mmamethlake Hospital
- Msogwaba Youth Development Centre
- Upgrading of the Coal Haul Road D2274
The DA strongly condemns the slow turnaround time for completing much needed infrastructure projects in the province that subsequently have a detrimental effect on the poorest of the poor.
This department and its MEC, Thulasizwe Thomo, must understand that these incomplete and delayed infrastructure projects are meant to create jobs in a province that is currently sitting at 48.7% expanded unemployment rate. These projects are also meant improve our infrastructure and uplift our communities.
The inability of MEC Thomo’s department to complete capital infrastructure projects within scheduled time and within budget will also cost the taxpayer dearly as prices of material will eventually escalate.
We will write to MEC Thomo and his department requesting that they do whatever it takes to do better and complete projects on time and within budget so that they can ease the load already carried by taxpayers.
According to the NCOP document, Mpumalanga has so far invested R21.3 billion to infrastructure projects implemented by the Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport between 2019 to 2024.