Giyani Municipality grilled: Nothing to show for R95m project

Limpopo MEC for cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs Basikopo Makamu has demanded answers from the management of the Giyani local municipality in Mopani district as to why a budget for the construction of a landfill site was ballooned from R60 million to R95 million, with nothing to show for it.

Makamu’s action comes after the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) complained to the Limpopo government at the legislature in Lebowakgomo yesterday about alleged corruption and poor workmanship in the project.

The NCOP spent the better part of last week visiting government projects in Vhembe and Mopani district municipalities.

The aim was to assess the rate of service delivery. After the visit, the NCOP would report its findings to parliament.

NCOP delegation leader Alec Nchabeleng said the council was baffled that millions of rands had already been spent on the project since 2015 with nothing to show for it.

“I smell a rat here. There is more to it than meets the eye,” said Nchabeleng.

According to the scope of work, the project designs started in 2015 and the contractor was appointed in August 2017 for R69.8 million.

The project was expected to run for 12 months but the contractor did not complete the work on site and ended up abandoning the project due to disagreements with the municipality.

Municipal manager Vusi Khoza said the company contracted was Eternity Star Investment 231, with Lazwi Engineering as consulting engineers.

The company was tasked to develop a landfill site with key items such as recycling units, construction of a buy-back centre, control office, weigh bridge, cell development, concrete palisade fencing, drilling of boreholes and equipment, gravel access road, construction of a guard house, installation of a septic tank, storm water leaching system, electrification, operation, and maintenance of the site.

He said since 2015, the municipality spent R76.2 million in the project and another R7 million was needed for completion.

Asked why the project remained incomplete, Khoza said: “The contractor abandoned the site after disagreements on the quantities being claimed. He was given a notice with timelines to resume work but didn’t do so.”

Khoza said a second company was appointed on the project. Last week, Nchabeleng and his team wrote a long list of concerns about the project, asking Makamu and premier Stan Mathabatha to investigate possible allegations of impropriety.