05 Nov 2020

Contractors have been told to increase the pace in all projects that were behind schedule and refrain from using COVID-19 as an excuse for late completion.

Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Development chief public relations officer Mr Christopher Nyanga said in an interview on Wednesday that the ministry desired that all projects be completed for immediate beneficial use by the public.

He said the ministry was currently implementing more than P1.2 billion worth of infrastructural  projects, which were at various stages of completion.

Saying the ministry had for quite some time been grappling with delayed completion of projects, Mr Nynaga said delays were caused by, among others; late appointment of sub-contractors, inability by contractors to organise their work in an efficient manner, contractors’ inability to manage their cash flows, unavailability of some materials locally and termination of non-performing contractors.

However, Mr Nyanga stated that almost all projects had  been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lockdowns that were instituted some months ago meant that work on all projects had to be stopped as a precautionary measure to avert the spread of the disease, said Mr Nyanga adding projects were progressing at a much slower pace than they would under normal circumstances.

Mr Nyanga said many contractors experienced absenteeism as some workers had to go on either quarantine or isolation when they tested positive for COVID-19 or when they formed part of contact tracing.

All the mentioned factors affected the pace at which projects were being implemented, he said.

He nevertheless said in order to alleviate late delivery of projects occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry had impressed upon contractors to come up with new work programmes.

Furthermore, he said the ministry consistently conducted inspections on all its projects so that any challenges could be noticed on time and immediately addressed.

Mr Nyanga said the projects included health and educational facilities, police stations and others implemented on behalf of various ministries and departments.

Among the major projects that the ministry was currently handling, Mr Nyanga mentioned  construction of primary hospitals and a police station as well as  school maintenanace.

In Shakawe, a primary hospital under construction at a contract sum of P309  898 812  is 95 per cent complete. Also ongoing is the Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital refurbishment project, currently 90 per cent complete,  at a cost of P66  667 160. Yet another project is the construction of a primary hospital in Moshupa costing  P418 932 847 which is 27 per cent complete while the associated staff houses project, undertaken at a cost of P65 142 115, is at 39 per cent.

Meanwhile, Mr Nyanga has said the P51 338 863 Letlhakane Senior Secondary School maintenance project was currently at 91 per cent completion stage, whereas Ghanzi Senior Secondary School maintenance project of P68 011 081 was at 54 per cent.

He further said the Francistown Senior Secondary School maintenance project of P52 812 220 stood at 19 per cent.

The Maitengwe Police Station project costing P74 875 933 was at 85 per cent complete while the P88  885 552 Semolale Police Station project was complete and would soon be handed over, he said. ENDS