North West Public Works and Roads commits to resuscitate four road projects cancelled more than seven years ago in the Morelete Local Municipality, Hammanskraal.
A pipe-opener to provincial Transport Month activities is poised to resuscitate- almost seven years later- four road projects in the Moretele Local Municipality, Hammanskraal, which stalled and were later abandoned due to lack of funds almost eight years ago.
The roads re-visited for upgrading from gravel to surface are: Kgomo-Kgomo to Bedwang (5km); Bedwang to Lebotlwane (11,6km) Lebotlwane to Tlholwe (3.7km) and Moretele to Ga-Habedi (6.7km).
A sod turning ceremony is planned for tomorrow (Fri), on the Bedwang to Lebotlwane road to mark the beginning of Transport Month festivities line-up for the month of October by the department of Public Works and Roads in the province.
Expected to lead proceedings at all planned events, are MEC for the Public Works and Roads, Mmule Maluleke and officials of her department.
Back to the sod-turning event, the contractor, Mopicon Construction, is on site already to begin work (R31.5million) on the 5km road project. This is expected to take eight months to complete.
Included in the road works for this project are: installations of new box culverts and construction of new mitre drains. Work on some of the above mentioned roads is expected begin after tender processes have been completed.
Back in the year 2008, all four road projects, with a combined tender value of R157m, were awarded to road construction company, Kaulani Civils. They were later terminated and the remainder of the work still in progress then, cancelled.
The decision to terminate, was informed by lack of funding for the four roads projects, which had no budget allocation anyway. This was however further compounded by claims of alleged flawed processes in the appointment of Kaulani Civils for the job.
For more than six years Community-based organizations and other pressure groups from villages who would have benefitted directly from promised surfaced roads petitioned among others the provincial government, Public Protector and The Presidency to complain about the abandoned roads projects in their respective areas.
The department appointed consultants in 2016 to re-design affected roads, as the previous designs were outdated except for the 5km section in Kgomo-Kgomo village.
Meanwhile, other activities scheduled to take place in districts of Bojanala, Ngaka Modiri Molema, Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati and Dr Kenneth Kaunda on separate dates.
These include: Sod turning for the construction of a bridge in Madidi village including the official opening of another in Klipgat; official opening of the upgraded road from Itsoseng-Springbokpan to Goedgevonden.
The official opening of a upgraded road from Morokweng to Bona-Bona; rehabilitation of Phase ll from road 503 to Archbishop Desmond Tutu Street in Klerksdorp.
The last activity to wind-up Transport Month will be the Phase ll launch of the Mahikeng to Lichtenburg alas the Nelson Mandela Highway project.
For more information contact:
Pakiso Mothupi (Head Of Department)
Cell: 078 801-0496
Matshube Mfoloe (Head Of Communication)
Cell: 082 337-3204
