POLOKWANE – Polokwane Mayor John Mpe has threatened to take action if the central station in the city, for Leeto la Polokwane buses to Seshego, is not completed in the next six weeks as was promised.
The project on the corner of Thabo Mbeki and Genl Joubert streets has seen a delay of two years, and paving, roofing and steel works remain unfinished.
Read more: Leeto la Polokwane: Concerns over incomplete bus station
Delays result in more money paid by taxpayers, Mpe remarked, adding that the project manager’s analysis on whether there are deliberate delays from contracted workers is crucial.
The municipality recently appointed a new contractor after parting ways with the previous one based on incomplete work, Mpe said.
In one of the pothole patching sessions last Friday, Mpe was left unimpressed during a site visit to the central station.
The now more than R28m project from the 2022/23 coffers, should have been finished by December 2021, according to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system spokesperson, Rebotile Malakalaka.
In the first six months of the project, the slow progress was ascribed to inclement weather by the then municipal public transport regulation and monitoring manager, David Ramakgwakgwa, prompting a first extension to December 2022.
During last Monday’s launch of the BRT smart card and phasing out of other forms of payment systems from July 1, Mpe said he was “not happy that BRT projects have not been moving as they should”.
When Polokwane Observer enquired in May about the set completion time when the project stood at 79% as Malakalaka said, she mentioned they were on track to finish by the end of June.
Read more: Construction of Leeto la Polokwane bus station at 79% complete
This is to say, the contractor had requested for an additional five weeks as the expected completion time lapses tomorrow (June 30).
The project is spearheaded by Matakanye Construction as the main contractor and locally sourced small medium and micro enterprises are benefitting through the supply of bricks, concrete and steel, and the building of complementary ablution facilities, Malakalaka told Polokwane Observer in May.
In the meantime, commuters are urged to visit their nearest Leeto kiosk to obtain their smart cards for free before July 30, or pay R60 for the security tight smart card.
Bring along your ID to register.
