EKURHULENI – The Democratic Alliance in Ekurhuleni says the report of the Public Protector’s probe into suspected tender fraud in the municipality to the tune of R109m has confirmed what the DA has suspected all along.
DA Shadow MMC for Roads and Transport, Bill Rundle, is even more concerned that this fraud allegedly happened at the hands of City Manager, Kaya Ngema, according to media reports.
He had noticed that repairs and maintenance of roads in the Metro had come to a standstill. Questions to ascertain reasons for this, posed to MMC Thumbu Mahlangu, elicited only vague and evasive answers.
The lack of response from officials raised obvious red flags, which led the party to believe there was some kind of cover-up in place.
It is quite clear that MMC Mahlangu has long since lost control of this vital service delivery department. Several sites in Etwatwa, Daveyton and Esselen Park Ext 3 were started but not completed, which have been hugely inconvenient for residents; just a few examples of a problem that spans the Metro.
Stormwater projects in flood areas have been hanging in the air for two years, despite a directive from a tribunal in 2012 to commence and complete the work as a matter of urgency. The court interdict preventing the Metro from awarding any further contracts in certain areas explains a great deal.
Roads and related infrastructure development form the basis of all economic development. The Aerotropolis and the Integrated Rapid Transport Network (IRTN) seem to be little more than hot air from the Mayor and a pipe dream for the Metro.
While the DA obviously supports a moratorium on the awarding of tenders while possible corruption is uncovered and resolved, the delays don’t help residents and motorists see or feel any difference in the roads they are using.
As a result Rundle says the people of Ekurhuleni are stuck between a rock and a hard place, while corruption and fraud are being investigated and moratoriums are imposed, there is still no delivery of decent roads.
