Contractor still to be appointed for water treatment plant
The procurement and tender process for a generator for the Parys water treatment plant has been completed but was also put on halt pending approval of the necessary Preferencial Procurement Pollicy by council.
A contractor still needs to be appointed for major refurbishment at the Parys water treatment plant.
The appointment of a contractor is awaiting approval of Council of a new policy pursuant to new Preferencial Procurement Regulations. Only after approval of the policy, can the tender process commence.
This follows after new legislation with specific directions for the application of Preferencial Procurement Processes was made applicable to all government institutions, was tested in court. Pending the outcome of the court’s finding, national treasury had put a moratorium on all procurement and tender processes slowing down, amongst others, this project which was originally expected to commence in April.
That the Department of Water & Sanitation already approved R66 million for the refurbishment project, has been confirmed earlier by the Ngwathe Executive Mayor, Cllr Victoria de Beer. She said the department would oversee the project in collaboration with Cogta.
Meanwhile two sandfilters at the plant were repaired in February as a matter of urgency utilizing the remaining funds of an earlier approved Cogta project. This included inserting sand medium and installing new nozzles at the two filters in the older part of the plant, as well as the cleaning of the sedimentation ponds.
Construction of a new pipeline from the plant directly to Reservoir 1 in Ghana, in the heart of the Tumahole township, has also commenced on 22 February. Fifty percent (1,4km) of the construction of the pipeline has been completed with four months of the project remaining for completion and testing, was the message conveyed to those present during a site inspection this week.
The construction of the new pipeline is done by Ngwathe internally and does not form part of the R66 million funding allocated for the refurbishment of the plant.
The work which was done on the sand filters, as well as the construction of the pipeline, has severely affected the operation of the plant which was previously already struggling to provide in the water needs of the entire Parys community due to numerous problems at the plant, worsened by loadshedding and frequent electricity outages.
As a result of this a watershedding schedule was initiated and made available by the municipality at the end of February.
The schedule led to confusion and frustration amongst residents who protested that it does not make sense and is not applied according to the scheduled times. A revised schedule was demanded and accended to by the municipality, but has not been issued as yet.
Meanwhile a notice of scheduled shutdown times for the pumping of water from the plant to allow for work on the pipeline, was also issued by the municipality on the 5th of April. The times and dates might be revised as needed was said, as work progresses on the construction of the pipeline.
- The procurement and tender process for a generator for the Parys Water Treatment plant has been completed but was also put on halt pending approval of the necessary Preferencial Procurement Pollicy by council.
