12 Jun 2018

Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development, Mr Nonofo Molefhi says the construction of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) regional office in Tutume was delayed due to  a number of factors which included the late appointment of both the electrical and mechanical nominated sub-contractors, which was then compounded by excessively heavy rains that flooded portions of the building site. Answering a question in Parliament on Monday, Mr Molefhi said ‘these delays were from  the onset of the project  beyond the control of the contractor’.

Further, the minister said that there were other delays by the contractor, which were attributable to his failure to properly manage  problems, such as cash flow problems, something he said hampered his ability to provide the needed materials for the project on time. Mr Molefhi also highlighted that the project commenced on March 6 2017 and the original completion date was scheduled for October 2, 2017.

However, Mr Molefhi added, the contractor has so far been granted extensions of time, which effectively revised the completion date to February 2018. The contractor failed to meet the completion date and the new revised project programme by the contractor has been scheduled for end of July. Member of Parliament for Nkange, Mr Edwin Batshu, had asked the minister what caused the delays in the completion of the IEC office block currently under construction in Tutume and when the project would be completed.  Ends