Water project delays cause discontent
In September the ZO spoke to Dennis Rafferty of the Empangeni Mazda dealership who was disgruntled with the tardiness of the project, which he said has negatively impacted his business
EMPANGENI CBD business owners are fed-up with the slow progress of upgrading the town’s water distribution network, saying it is impacting negatively on their businesses.
In September the ZO spoke to Dennis Rafferty of the Empangeni Mazda dealership who was disgruntled with the tardiness of the project, which he said has negatively impacted his business.
‘For two months the trenches have been left open.
‘It’s an obvious safety hazard to the public and some haven’t even been marked properly.
‘I have customers walking in and out constantly and it is a major concern for us.
‘We have seen a decline in customers as they cannot park here because of the construction.
‘They seem to think we are doing the work and that we are closed,’ Rafferty said.
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Last week the ZO was contacted by a number of other businesses who expressed similar sentiments.
Peter Ronald of Edwards Pharmacy on Union Street said there was no systematic work ethic in the way in which the project had been handled thus far.
‘Initially they began picking up the bricks all along the sidewalk of Union Street.
‘They then stopped for at least a month or two before returning to dig the trenches.
‘Thereafter they placed the plastic pipes next to the trenches and just left them there.
‘After sometime they returned to lay the pipes in the trenches and connect them.
‘Early last month they began filling up the trenches and only up until two weeks ago did they put the bricks back,’ said a frustrated Ronald.
The ZO previously reported that a R44-million tender had been awarded to First Works 119 CC earlier this year to upgrade both Empangeni and Ngwelezana water distribution networks by replacing the old asbestos pipes with new, thicker plastic pipes which also have a longer life.
uMhlathuze City Spokesperson, Mdu Ncalane, said there had been a number of challenges.
‘The project has its own fair share of challenges which pushes the completion date.
‘The City is in touch with the contractor to monitor work and mitigate all challenges,’ he said in a statement.
During a visit to some of the affected roads and streets last week, the ZO spoke to a worker at one of the sites.
Speaking on condition of anonymity the man explained that there had been both foreseen and unforeseen delays in the project itself.
‘The contractor and sub-contractors went through staff like crazy, but more so, workers have been very slack as they feel if they delay the project they can stretch their work period thus earning an income for longer – I’ve seen this happen at many projects.
‘We also came across a lot of services (cables and wires) underground.
‘The municipal service drawings did not show most of the services underground that we have come across to date.
‘This delayed the project even further as when we come across these we have to work around them or disconnect and reconnect them. It makes the job very tricky,’ he told the ZO.
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