18 Feb 2019

 Ministry of Transport and Communications is not aware of repeat of poor workmanship on the 9.6 kilometre Selokolela access road and 7.9 kilometre Sesung access road, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso has told Parliament.

    Answering a question on behalf of Minister of Transport and Communications, Ms Tshireletso said the defective work detected had been rectified at the contractor’s expenses.

    She said the detailed remedial work were that the Selokolela access road was initially constructed up to surfacing and could not meet the contract specifications. 

Ms Tshireletso said the contractor was instructed to rectify the failing portions of the road at his expense.

  She said the failed section, which was 6kms out of the 9.6km, was then subjected to surface riding quality (smoothness) and pavement strength tests last November and was found to meet the contract specifications.

    She said similarly 4km of the completed construction work up to road surfacing on Sesung access road was also rectified and subjected to the tests last October and November, stating that the section was found to meet the requirements of the contract specifications.

   Ms Tshireletso said her ministry continued to closely monitor quality on these and other roadworks in order to ensure that they were constructed as per the contract specifications and designs.

    Kanye South MP, Mr Abraham Kesupile had asked the minister if she was aware that the Sesung and Selokolela road strips were experiencing a repeat poor workmanship that could result in serious wastage of resources and damage of the roads department and greater suffering to the public.

    Mr Kesupile said if the minister was aware, she should state what her ministry was doing to ensure that the road strips were of high quality and standard.  ENDS