03 Sep 2017

President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama has cautioned those contractors who fail to deliver to expectation when awarded public projects, saying they will be blacklisted.

Speaking at the launch of Shakawe Primary Hospital construction, Lt. Gen Dr Khama said any project should be of the prescribed quality in terms of workmanship.

He said projects’ standards and timelines should be adhered to, adding that there should be no defects or omissions like the ones which were reported at Shakawe Senior Secondary School.

He was also concerned by the manner in which contractors quoted when it came to government projects, noting that in most instances they doubled the costing.

Lt Gen. Dr Khama also said contractors should desist from shortcuts for their personal gains hence compromising projects quality.

He therefore called upon all stakeholders who would be actively involved in the Shakawe Primary Hospital construction to do their outmost to ensure that the project went according to plan, on time and on budget.

For his part, Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development, Mr Nonofo Molefhi said he would closely monitor the project and make frequent visits to the site.

He said the contractor had been ‘seriously’ warned and that they expected him to deliver a quality facility with no defects.

Mr Molefhi said construction ’is expected to take 30 months’, adding that the contractor seemed to be on the right track as the construction was a bit ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, acting Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele said upon completion of the hospital, the ministry would develop a maintenance plan to ensure the facility was always up to standard.

He also said his ministry was committed to ensuring that health facilities delivered services in line with Essential Health Service Package and that enough resources were put in place to ensure availability of quality service at all levels of delivery.

Further, Mr Makgalemele noted that during the NDP 11 plan period, more emphasis would be put on expanding and rehabilitating the current infrastructure to make them more habitable, expanding specialised services to the districts, skilling health professionals, ensuring the availability of minimum medical equipment package and improving outreach services.Ends