Government’s excuse for missing road millions is ‘rubbish’, says Ikosi

They mystery surrounding Mpumalanga’s missing R110 million road is deepening, with the provincial government accused of deceit involving a further R17 million from the Presidential Stimulus Fund, ostensibly meant to pave the same road.

This week The Citizen revealed how the Mpumalanga department of public works, roads and transport failed to deliver on its promise to the rural community of Katjibane to tar the 9.5km stretch of dirt road connecting Nokaneng and Limpopo.

Also Read: R110 million Mpumalanga road upgrade leads nowhere

The community was later told the project was being reviewed and only R17 million from the Covid-19 Presidential Stimulus Fund would be used to fund the upgrading of 1.5km of the road using interlocking bricks.

The dirt road that runs through the Katjibane community in Mpumalanga. Picture: Jacques Nelles

Smoke and mirrors

The department has since claimed the project was transferred to Marapyane when the Katjibane community rejected it, but the Mpumalanga House of Traditional Leadership (HTL) has dismissed this claim.

“The lies from whoever you spoke to is rubbish to say that the money went to Marapyane. It is all lies… it is rubbish to say that the money went to Marapyane. I serve in the Mpumalanga (HTL) with Kgosi (Jeffrey) Moepi of Ba Kgatla ba Mocha in Marapyane,” Ikosi Cecil Mahlangu, deputy chairperson of HTL, said.

He said the Presidential Stimulus Package was R630 million shared by all provinces, with each province getting R70 million.

“Concurrently, when they introduced the new scope of work for road D935 to be paved, they introduced the same scope of R17 million to the Traditional Council in Marapyane. In essence, the R70 million was shared between four projects but the department never bothered to inform us where the projects are. We had to do our own digging,” Mahlangu, the chief of Pungutsha Traditional Council in Katjibane, said.

Moepi, the chief of Bakgatla Ba Mocha Traditional Council, said he only heard rumours that the R17 million meant for interlocking bricks in Katjibane had been transferred to Marapyane but said he could not point to any such project.

He was only aware of two projects in his village, but said these formed part of those projects using the R39 million Marapyane shared with Nokaneng.

The dirt road that runs through the Katjibane community in Mpumalanga. Picture: Jacques Nelles

“To my knowledge, each of the four contractors were given R9 million and two worked on two projects in Nokaneng and the other two in Marapyane. The only R17 million upgrading project I am aware of was the original share of Marapyane. I do not know what happened to the R17 million from Katjibane,” Moepi said.

R127 million missing in total

Pungutsha Traditional Council headman Thomas Maluleke said the provincial government was being dishonest about the R110 million for the tarring of the 9.5km D935 dirt road, as well as R17 million for the paving of 1.5km of the road.

“They tell you that the R110 million was a budget estimate and not a budget. We say it is not true because work had already started on the road in February last year. From which budget then did they pay the engineers who tested the soil and designed the road? Also, how do you even form a project steering committee and contractors without an approved budget? We are being taken for fools here,” he said.

Maluleke said it was also baffling why the department of roads and public works would tell The Citizen that the R17 million for the paving they rejected was reallocated to Marapyane.

He said they were told during their visit to the department offices in March that the money was still there and would be released at any stage when the community accepts the road upgrade using interlocking bricks.

“Which money then did they reallocate to Marapyane? It means the total money that is missing here is R127 million because we are not getting answers as to what happened to the R110 million for tarring 9.5km of the road or the R17 million for paving 1.5km,” Maluleke said.

What the Mpumalanga department of public works, roads and transport says

The Mpumalanga department of public works, roads and transport said that initially four contractors were appointed for two upgrades on Road D935 and another two at D2091.

Spokesperson Frederick Dhlamini said when it became apparent the Katjibane community would not allow the contractors for the D935 road to work, a decision was taken to move the two contractors to D2091 in Marapyane.

“The move was the re-allocation of the R17 million from Katjibane to Marapyane. The road D935 starts in Nokaneng, through Katjibane to the Limpopo border. The two contractors appointed on road D935 had started work from the Nokaneng end of the road D935,” he said.

On the R110 million tarring project, Dhlamini said the original plan was for asphalt surfacing and the option of interlocking paving blocks was considered because of the availability of funding under the Presidential Stimulus Fund.

“However, the community prefers asphalt surfacing and as and when the department has the budget it will be constructed as originally designed,” he said.

Dhlamini added that traditional authorities were represented whenever a project was in the implementation phase and in project steering committees where project information was shared with all stakeholders.

• siphom@citizen.co.za