Committee calls for probe on projects worth millions

Great Kei Local municipal officials allegedly lied to council in claiming that work on more than five facilities valued at millions of rands had been completed for the 2015-16 financial year.

The facilities included the construction of sports fields worth close to R10-million.

This was revealed in the municipality’s municipal public accounts committee (MPAC) report, tabled on March 30 2017 of which the Daily Dispatch has seen a copy.

Many of the projects have in fact been left unfinished and the committee is calling for a forensic investigation as there is suspicion of corruption.

After visiting the projects, MPAC officials found:

• The R1.2-million Kwelera sports-field was reported as completed but there were no gates, the change room building was an empty shell with no windows and rubble still littered the ground. R1.1-million has already been spent on the project;
• R2.1-million budgeted for the Chintsa sportsfield with R1.9-million already spent on the project. However, access is in poor condition, the field is not properly built, the fence is partially finished while grass on the field is not properly planted;
• At R1.2-million, the Komga sports-field has already had R1.1-million spent on it but only half the fencing has been completed. General workmanship was found to be poor with the change rooms remaining empty shells;
• Happy Valley Community Hall had a budget of R2.6-million but the hall has no lights in the toilets and sinks are not installed; and
• The new Chintsa community hall had broken toilet doors and other issues like broken tiles. The budget was R2.6-million with over R2-million having already been spent.

The MPAC report reveals that R9.8-million was budgeted for the five projects while R7.7-million has already been spent.

Municipal officials said the projects had all been completed, but the MPAC committee said this was not true.

Great Kei municipality spokeswoman Akhona Shumane-Cakata said they had terminated the contracts of contractors who were appointed for the Komga and Kwelera sports-fields and emphasised that no contractor was paid in full for work not finished.

She also said the road leading to the Chintsa sports-field was not in the contractor’s scope of work.

“The municipality has purchased the material which is required to complete the projects and is also pursuing a process of recruiting local labour or artisans who will complete the projects,” said Shumane-Cakata.

However, the MPAC committee recommended a forensic investigation into the projects.

“After having exhausted the mandate of the council entrusted to them, the committee is not convinced by explanations ) resolved to recommend that the council should conduct further or forensic investigation on five projects more especially Kwelera and Komga sports-fields,” read the MPAC report.

A Dispatch team spent three days visiting the facilities.

Residents from each of the areas were disappointed at the lack of progress on their projects.

Thembisile Jack of Komga said their Happy Valley community hall had not opened to the public since it was handed over to community last year in July.

“You can see the locks are rusty and the grass is dwarfing the hall. We suspect that there are defects in the hall,” said Jackson.

In Kwelera, Mablayi Mzamo said the sports field had become a grazing ground for livestock.

“The change rooms have no glass in the window frames,” he said.

Mzamo said millions of rands had been wasted. “These beautiful expensive structures will remain as white elephants in all these villages,” said Mzamo.

At Chintsa a construction company was seen on site to finish the community hall while in Kei Mouth a sportsfield could not be found.

Local resident Siyabonga Patuluko said they needed a ground.

“We’ve got rugby, soccer and netball here and we would love to have a better sports facility to keep the youth out of drugs but there’s just nothing. Great Kei municipality does not care,” said Patuluko.

Shumane-Cakata said a total of two sportsfields and halls on the approved service delivery and budget implementation plan for 2015-16 reflected as 100% completed.

“Kwelera sportsfield was not in the original 2015-16 plan.”

She said the projects for building sportsfields and other amenities formed part of a five-year integrated development plan. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za