The damaged Lillian Ngoyi Street (formerly Bree Street) one month after the explosion on 19 July 2023. Picture: Vukosi Maluleke
The DA in the City of Johannesburg says it has lost faith in the metro’s leadership to reconstruct the damaged section of Lillian Ngoyi Street (previously Bree Street).
This comes after Mayor Dada Morero on Monday told Newzroom Afrika that the reconstruction will be finished in August 2025.
Last month, the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) said the first phase of the repair work will be complete by 30 June 2025 and the second phase will be completed on 30 June 2026.
More than a year after the deadly gas explosion in Joburg’s CBD, this road remains closed.
Speaking to The Citizen on Tuesday, DA caucus leader in the City of Johannesburg Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku complained that the project had too many delays.
“We don’t believe the work will be completed in the timelines that the executive mayor mentioned because this administration doesn’t take residents of Johannesburg seriously,” she said.
A deadline of December 15 was initially set for the reconstruction, but there were a number of delays in appointing a contractor.
Eventually, after Step Up Engineering was appointed, the city terminated the contract because of the company’s failure to meet contractual obligations.
Kayser-Echeozonjoku said the municipality had no regard to the residents or businesses operating in the central business district (CBD).
“These delays could have been avoided if due diligence had been done on these companies,” she said.
Kayser-Echeozonjoku said the DA had complained to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) about the delays and asked for an investigation into the companies appointed.
“The money meant to be spent on service delivery is spent on contractors who don’t complete their work and there’s no consequence management.
“The mayor and the JRA have yet to tell residents whether the administration had requested for the company terminated to be blacklisted,” she said.
The city initially paid R196m to Step Up Engineering to repair the street.
In an interview on Newzroom Afrika on Monday, Morero said a new process was put in place to appoint another engineering company.
He blamed the previous contractor for the delays and apologised to Johannesburg’s residents.
“We apologise to the people in the inner city in particular for the delays,” he said.
Lillian Ngoyi Street is an important arterial route for buses and taxis in the CBD. Its closure has not only contributed to traffic in the inner city, but it has also affected business along that stretch of road.
Despite Morero’s apology, the DA is still demanding to know who had awarded the previous contract to Step Up Engineering.
NOW READ: Bree Street update: Rebuild only at 20% completion of 24-month project
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
