MEDIA STATEMENT: LIMPOPO NCOP DELEGATES AND MEMBERS OF LIMPOPO LEGISLATURE CONCLUDE JOINT OVERSIGHT VISITS
The Limpopo’s permanent delegates to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) have, together with their provincial counterparts, concluded joint oversight visits, which were part of the National Provincial Week programme of the NCOP.
The NCOP’s National Provincial Week is an annual oversight programme where the NCOP provincial delegation works with its provincial counterparts. It is marked under different themes each year in order to underscore the main oversight focus. The theme for 2023 is: “Building valuable provincial and municipal infrastructure for effective delivery of services to communities.” Accordingly, the joint delegation focused on water, road and landfill infrastructure projects in Vhembe and Mopani districts.
On Tuesday, 12 September 2023, the joint delegation received and welcomed presentations on the identified infrastructure projects from the MECs of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure; Co-operative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA); Department of Water and Sanitation; South African National Road Agency (SANRAL); as well as Vhembe and Mopani district municipalities.
On Wednesday, they visited the water system that was built to augment the water supply in the Musina Local Municipality, wherein they raised concerns about the loss of eight megaliters of raw water on a daily basis from the aging 8.1-kilometer-pipeline that channels water from boreholes to the water treatment works in Musina.
They then proceeded to the N1 Musina Ring Road and the stretch of road D4 between Elim and Malamulele, which is currently under rehabilitation. Although they welcomed the good work done by Road Agency Limpopo and SANRAL, the joint delegation recommended that the 72km stretch of the N1 road through Musina should also be reconstructed.
On Thursday, the joint delegation visited the Nandoni to Nsami Regional Bulk Water Scheme in Thohoyandou and Giyani. They noted the completion of a 40km bulk water pipeline that channels raw water from the Nandoni dam to the canal that channels water to the Nsami Water Treatment Works in Giyani. They then proceeded to the waste disposal site and roads D3187 as well as D3843 between Mageva and Makhuvha Villages in Giyani.
At the Giyani waste disposal site, the joint delegation noted that the project was registered in 2015 at R81.9 million, which included R69.8 million contract amount and R12 million consultancy fees. They lamented about the project delay and attributed that to a lack of both monitoring and consultation. Of serious concern, however, is the additional cost of R5.9 million, which is needed to complete the work. The joint delegation is of the view that time and money could have been saved, had the Giyani Local Municipality consulted the Department of Water and Sanitation from the initial stage.
The joint delegation recommended that the Portfolio Committee on CoGHSTA in the Limpopo Legislature should take a closer look at the project. They felt that the amount of money paid to contractors is disproportionate to the work done, which, they believe, is due to a lack of consequence management.
Finally, they expressed disappointment with the lack of reports from the departments of CoGHSTA and Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure, which should be responding to the key issues that were raised during oversight visits. The joint delegation then ordered that such reports be furnished within two working days. Both Limpopo’s permanent delegates to the NCOP together with their counterparts in the province have developed a joint oversight report, which will be tabled for debate and adoption in the NCOP and Limpopo Legislature.
Source: Parliament of South Africa