23 Sep 2020

The ongoing construction of the Ramotswa storm water project is said to be of poor quality due to substandard workmanship. 

This came to light during a recent South East District Council session, in a written response to councillors after they expressed their misgivings over the project. 

Poor workmanship was highlighted among the challenges facing the project. 

“The quality of the product is not good on some sections and this is mainly due to lack of experienced personnel,” part of the response stated. 

Furthermore, it was stated that the contractor’s technical design proposal was not the best at the time of evaluation. 

The response stated that the best evaluated bidder at the technical evaluation was not given the opportunity to execute the works as his price was higher than the current contractor. 

The council was also informed that the project works are at 98 per cent as per the contractor’s proposed design and was currently left with patching of cuts left when constructing water crossings along the A11 road. 

The council was further informed that the contractor was unable to progress due to cash flow problems. 

The South East District Commissioner, Ms Sebokwane Dikgope told the meeting that the project was awarded to the current contractor by the appeals board, based on their expertise in consultation with stakeholders, such as the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB). 

She said the board’s decision was also confirmed by a court ruling on the matter. 

Regarding the issue of the project quality, Ms Dikgope said she suspected that supervision was lacking, as the tendering process was done properly. 

Councillors had raised concerns  over the quality of the 2.8 kilometre project, which has cost the government millions of Pula. 

Councillor Jaahid Zalal of Kgosing ward first expressed his misgivings about the project progress reporting, saying the reported progress figure seemed to be over exaggerated, while Specially Elected Councilor, Thabo Kgaswane complained about the project’s workmanship, which he said was an eyesore and disappointment. 

Further, he said the recent sub-council and district council sessions were given two different project progress levels, which was puzzling. 

Councilor Maria Motshwaedi, who is also the district’s chairperson of the Performance Monitoring Committee, said the project was troubling the council. 

Councilor Motshwaedi said their suspicion was that the tendering process was not done accordingly, adding that the councillors and staff were unhappy with the project. 

During a previous sub-district meeting, the councillors were informed that the project design was never approved by the council. 

Upon completion, the project is expected to alleviate the suffering of the Ramotswa community along A11 road, from flooding as a result of lack of storm water management system. Ends