DA demands Limpopo municipality helps starving workers

The Democratic Alliance (DA) and the ANC in the troubled Mogalakwena municipality in Limpopo are at loggerheads after the municipality’s failure to pay the salaries of more than 10 construction workers from a R55 million water project.

The employees are starving under lockdown after the service provider allegedly abandoned the project and disappeared without a trace.

This week, the DA wrote to Mogalakwena municipality mayor Andrina Matsemela, asking her to probe the nonpayment of three months’ salaries to more than 10 temporary workers at the Mapela-Moordkoppie water project since December 2018.

The estimated budget for the project was more than R55 million, but the temporary workers have not been paid for almost two years.

The water project started in the 2018-2019 financial year as part of the municipal infrastructure grant to provide water to several villages hard hit by drought. Some of the villages affected are Kwakwalata, Mabuela, Mabusela, Masoge, Mesopotamia, Mmahlogo, Ditlotswane, Rooivaal, Malokong, Phafola, Ramolurana, Witrivier and Millenium Park.

The municipality had allocated over R10 million in the 2018-2019 financial year and further payments of R10 million, R20 million and R15 million for the 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 financial years respectively.

“Notwithstanding all the budget allocations to this project, the DA can confirm that the contractor abandoned it in 2019 without the project being completed, and then the contractor vanished without paying temporary workers their full salaries,” said DA councillor in Mogalakwena municipality Elias Matlou.

“The matter came to our attention earlier, but our many attempts to trace the contractor have proved fruitless.”

Adding insult to injury, while the employees hoped the service provider would come forward and pay them their money to help with necessities during lockdown, the municipality has done little to help.

“We have noted that all these workers have families to feed and they are currently living in abject poverty while waiting for the project to recommence and their salaries to be paid,” Matlou said.

“The taxpayers’ money has already been looted by politically connected officials. The DA urges Matsemela to prioritise the payment of the salaries of these people as a matter of urgency.

“As the mayor, she must also ensure that the contractor is blacklisted from doing business with the municipality again.

“A part of awarding tenders involves monitoring and oversight. This was clearly not done. We demand that legal action be taken against the service provider who failed to finish this project and pay these individuals what they were due.”

When contacted for comment, Matsemela said the matter was brought to the attention of the municipality in February or March this year.

“We have since investigated the matter and are waiting for ID copies, a signed letter from the headman and bank statements from the labourers.

“Apparently, all contract/project monies were paid to the contractor, including labour guarantees. However, there will still be payment done through the retention as soon as all documentation is received from the labourers.

“We are ready to process payments to the workers if the outstanding documents can be submitted,” she said.

– news@citizen.co.za

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