‘Incomplete bus station affects business in the CBD’

POLOKWANE – Ongoing construction in the area results in parking not being available for customers who used to frequent the area.

In an article by Polokwane Observer last year, Leeto la Polokwane bus service spokesperson Rebotile Malakalaka said the project’s initial completion date had to be postponed after unusual rainy weather was experienced.

But seven months later, construction is still underway and business owners say they are feeling the pinch.

For one to access the businesses operating in the area, customers have to park on Market Street and use what some refer to as a “dodgy passage” as all main entry points have been barricaded due to construction.

A general practitioner, Dr Peters Mathebula said patients opt to consult elsewhere.

“Our patients are used to being dropped off at the door, and now they have to walk far or look for alternative entrances to get to us. Our numbers have definitely dropped.”

According to Mathebula, various businesses have closed in recent months.

Another doctor, who opted to remain anonymous, said he is worried that patients could get robbed on their way to the doctors’ rooms.

“Imagine sick patients, some of whom are in wheelchairs, can’t get access to us. They look elsewhere and start new treatment regimes with new doctors,” another doctor said.

According to Malakalaka, the December 2021 completion date was not met as the contractor’s scope of work was extended by the municipality following a change in project design.

“This led to an inevitable shift in the timelines. Currently, the contractor has completed the scope of work and awaits the specialised subcontractor to lay the BTB and the asphalt. This includes undertaking the necessary due diligence processes to assess the works undertaken and quality assurance,” Malakalaka said. The new projected completion date is August 2022.