11 Apr 2016

The  lack of proper project supervision adversely affects their implementation and are a draw back to development, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Frans Van Der Westhuizen has said.

Addressing Lobatse Town Council l, Mr Van Der Westhuizen said non compliance to requirements of project implementation led to projects not being completed on time, hence affecting council coffers.

He said non compliance by project supervisors normally ended with contractors finding loop holes which they exploit to their advantage, something that often ended at arbitration.

Unfortunately, councils often lost such cases and paid contractors huge amounts of money that sometimes was more than the initial contract costs which dents council coffers and planned developments.

The assistant minister implored councils to ensure that they followed contracts obligations to the latter to avoid such incidents for better project implementation.

Proper project implementation, he said, would lead to developmental advancement which does not only lift the employees living standards, but those of the communities they serve.

When projects were delivered on time and on budget, he said it also replicated into developing not only of the communities, but also the employees carrying out the projects and eventually the country’s economy.

With the current economic situation, he said the country was struggling to share its wealth among ministries as in the past when there was enough.

He said the government was forced to share the little that it has across ministries for developments to move on.

The assistant minister also encouraged the council management to work harmoniously with the political wing of the council to better serve the community who were the end recipients of their service delivery.

As councils are in the forefront of serving people, receiving more visitors than the central government, Mr Van Der Westhuizen said it was important for council’s public relations structures to be robust in explaining council services to the people.

“It is only through public relations officers that people will understand services offered,” he said.

In her welcome remarks, Lobatse Town Council mayor, Ms Malebogo Kruger said the town council was one of the intact councils as the political leadership was working harmoniously with the administration arm.

Ms Kruger also said councillors across the political divide were also working harmoniously with each other to deliver projects and services to the customers for development’s sake.

She, however, expressed concern on the non provision of sewerage lines and septic tanks to residents which she said was a bitter thing for residents. She added that sewerage charges were also expensive.

She said Lobatse also needed to have storm water drainage system to avoid flooding during rainy seasons.

She also highlighted that project implementation was going on smoothly, although officers were overwhelmed with various projects that need to be implemented.

Giving the town’s  project overview, the deputy town clerk, Mr Oganne Gontse said the backlog eradication project included construction of houses in Motswedi, a project he said was behind schedule.

He also indicated that the contractor had since increased staff and his performance rate.

Concerning the construction of two cubicle toilets at St Theresa Primary School, Mr Gontse said the contractor had since terminated his contracts and that arrangements were being made to engage another contractor to complete the works.

As one of the first councils to kick start the Economic Stimulus programme, Mr Gontse said construction works of a classroom block and two toilets at Botlhakga Primary School had already been awarded to Ramogotsi Investments for close to P2.8 million.

He also indicated that electrical works had been awarded to ABP Investments for close to P156 000 with the letter of award ready for collection. ENDS