Library finally fenced off

After much delay, the Lennoxton Library fencing project is finally near completion.

“It has been a long time coming and I am relieved the project is under way,” said Matthew Shunmugam, Chairperson of the Portfolio Standing Comittee of Development Planning and Human Settlements.

The project was placed on hold in November 2014, after the former Municipal Manager, Kebone Masange found certain irregularities pertaining to the procurement of the service provider for the project.

A regular maintenance service provider of the municipality had initially been tasked with the project, but Mr Masange objected because according to rules governing municipalities, capital projects costing more than R20 000 had to go out on tender.

As the fencing project fell into this category, it would have been deemed irregular by the Auditor General.

Now with the work in full swing, Cllr Shunmugam was confident the fence would deter social ills that occurred on the library’s premises such as the consumption of alcohol, drug abuse, graffiti and vandalism.

“The security of the library has now been improved. The maintenance of the library will also become easier, as demands of cleaning the property of things such as beer bottles and graffiti will decrease, as well as the acts of vandalism.”

The gates to the premises still needed to be finished and installed, said Cllr Shunmugam.