The Ekurhuleni municipality remains tight-lipped about the supposed failed project to construct a new EPMD precinct in Boksburg.
During the delivery of his State of the City Address (Soca) at the Germiston Council Chambers in March, Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina said the metro would construct a specialised services precinct in Boksburg.
He, however, did little to inform the public that the construction of the precinct in question had already proven to be a failed project, as the company appointed to carry out the job left the site almost a year ago.
The Advertiser has, prior to the delivery of the Soca, learned that more than R6-million in taxpayers’ money had allegedly already been wasted by the metro on the unfinished project in Boksburg.
A well-placed source told this publication construction works on the project commenced almost two years ago, and the contractor abandoned the site after it apparently failed to deliver as required – almost a year after it commenced construction works.
On April 4, the Advertiser sent an email with a list of questions requesting information on the unfinished project, but the metro has not replied.
During the delivery of the Soca, Masina indicated that the precinct, to be completed by 2021, will have specialised units such as the Dog Unit, the Community Liaison Unit, Public Order Policing Unit, the K9 Unit, the VIP Unit and the SWAT/Intervention Unit.
During the Advertiser’s tour of the site, it was discovered that some of the unused building material was left to rot on the site for over a year, and it appeared that some were no longer fit for purpose.
It remains unclear as to who the contractor that abandoned the site is, when a new contractor will be appointed to carry out the job, why the building material was left lying around the unsecured site, how much the project will cost taxpayers, and if the current estimated total cost is much more than what it should have been.
It appears the project was stopped while at the civil construction stages and most of the work done appears to have been apparently spoiled by the heavy rains and vandals. It’s unclear if the new contractor will be expected to redo the piece of work (phase one) of the project.
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