The Buffalo City Metro has allocated more than R200-million to upgrade gravel roads in Mdantsane.
The roads have not been upgraded since the metro launched its R180-million road upgrade programme for the township in 2014.
This was revealed in a fourth-quarter report tabled before council three weeks ago on the maintenance of gravel roads in Mdantsane for the 2015-16 financial year.
Acting city manager Nceba Ncunyana wrote in the report that the city had allocated R210.5-million over three financial years starting from this year.
The budget had been allocated over the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 medium-term revenue and expenditure framework (MTREF) period and, if implemented, could bring relief to hundreds of Mdantsane residents faced with gravel roads 50 years after the township was established.
“For financial year 2015-16, a share of 15% of the maintenance budget has been spent in Mdantsane, which is estimated at R14-million of the R91.4-million maintenance budget,” Ncunyana said.
In 2014, the Daily Dispatch reported that then-mayor Zukiswa Ncitha launched the road upgrading project in NU7 and told residents that following the Mdantsane 50th commemoration in 2013, the metro had committed to changing the face of the township.
The money was injected to upgrade the remaining 21km of gravel roads in the township and the identified roads were from NU3 to NU18.
The project was divided into three phases, and phase 1, which covered 9km, started the same year.
Phase 2 will cover 30km and 179km will be upgraded in phase 3.
However, more than two years after the project was launched Ncunyana said BCM did not have the capacity to fund the entire operations and maintenance programme for all the metro roads, making it “impossible to attend to all the roads in the metro through a preventative maintenance programme”.
To address its funding problems the metro also opted for the “re-capitalisation programme” which is funded internally and boosted by grant funding to increase the scope of upgrading the roads in Mdantsane and “address this problem of deferred maintenance in the future”, said Ncunyana.
“At the end of 2015-16 financial year 55.6km of gravel roads has been maintained in the form of wet blading and 21km re-graveled (in the) fourth-quarter,” Ncunyana wrote.
City portfolio head for the infrastructure and engineering department, councillor Ncedo Kumbaca told the Dispatch yesterday that three companies recently appointed by BCM had started with roadworks in the township and local people had also been employed.
He said former executive mayor Alfred Mtsi had launched the new rollout work just before the local government elections.
“In the NU14 and NU16, ward work has already commenced and the engagement with the community has been done. In NU9 also, the contractor has started working and job opportunities given to the local people,” Kumbaca said. — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
R200m for upgrading of gravel roads in Mdantsane
The roads have not been upgraded since the metro launched its R180-million road upgrade programme for the township in 2014.
This was revealed in a fourth-quarter report tabled before council three weeks ago on the maintenance of gravel roads in Mdantsane for the 2015-16 financial year.
Acting city manager Nceba Ncunyana wrote in the report that the city had allocated R210.5-million over three financial years starting from this year.
The budget had been allocated over the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 medium-term revenue and expenditure framework (MTREF) period and, if implemented, could bring relief to hundreds of Mdantsane residents faced with gravel roads 50 years after the township was established.
“For financial year 2015-16, a share of 15% of the maintenance budget has been spent in Mdantsane, which is estimated at R14-million of the R91.4-million maintenance budget,” Ncunyana said.
In 2014, the Daily Dispatch reported that then-mayor Zukiswa Ncitha launched the road upgrading project in NU7 and told residents that following the Mdantsane 50th commemoration in 2013, the metro had committed to changing the face of the township.
The money was injected to upgrade the remaining 21km of gravel roads in the township and the identified roads were from NU3 to NU18.
The project was divided into three phases, and phase 1, which covered 9km, started the same year.
Phase 2 will cover 30km and 179km will be upgraded in phase 3.
However, more than two years after the project was launched Ncunyana said BCM did not have the capacity to fund the entire operations and maintenance programme for all the metro roads, making it “impossible to attend to all the roads in the metro through a preventative maintenance programme”.
To address its funding problems the metro also opted for the “re-capitalisation programme” which is funded internally and boosted by grant funding to increase the scope of upgrading the roads in Mdantsane and “address this problem of deferred maintenance in the future”, said Ncunyana.
“At the end of 2015-16 financial year 55.6km of gravel roads has been maintained in the form of wet blading and 21km re-graveled (in the) fourth-quarter,” Ncunyana wrote.
City portfolio head for the infrastructure and engineering department, councillor Ncedo Kumbaca told the Dispatch yesterday that three companies recently appointed by BCM had started with roadworks in the township and local people had also been employed.
He said former executive mayor Alfred Mtsi had launched the new rollout work just before the local government elections.
“In the NU14 and NU16, ward work has already commenced and the engagement with the community has been done. In NU9 also, the contractor has started working and job opportunities given to the local people,” Kumbaca said. — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
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