Pretoria - The tabling of a forensic report into a stalled project to expand the Rooiwal water treatment plant has been postponed until next week’s council sitting.
This is amid claims that the report findings accused officials of wrongdoing for having awarded a R253-million tender for the first phase of refurbishing the plant.
Tshwane mayor Randall Williams was expected to table the report during a special council sitting on Tuesday. However, the council decided that the report be deferred to next week’s sitting owing to the water outage at Tshwane House.
In addition, councillors complained that they were not served lunch and the deliberations on the report were expected to last for hours.
Williams commissioned the report in March following concerns raised about the supply chain processes for the first phase tendering of the refurbishment project.
The probe into the tender was expected to have been completed within 90 days and its report tabled on June 30, but it was delayed.
The city attributed the delay to a request for an external investigator to be appointed.
Recently, the city announced that it had terminated the contract of the joint venture of CMS Water Projects and NJR Projects, which was appointed for a phase 1 construction in October 2019 at a value of R253m.
The termination, according to the city, followed significant problems and delays with the quality of the work on the site due to continuous stalling.
The city said it would immediately work to appoint a new contractor to complete the project and initiate legal action against the joint venture to reclaim an amount of about R29m in terms of the non-performance clauses of the contract.
The ANC caucus believes it was vindicated on the issue of the lack of service by the DA-led coalition government.
“The DA-led coalition has failed in the last six years to deliver water in Hammanskraal,” it said.
“The water waste treatment plant project has also failed.”
Despite the fact that the forensic report had yet to be tabled in council, the party said “the DA administration now wants to apportion blame on the city’s senior officials and exempt the political principals”.
The party singled out former DA mayors in Tshwane, Solly Msimanga, Stevens Mokgalapa and acting mayor Abel Tau, saying that they ought to account for the project.
Tau has since joined ActionSA and is the MMC for Human Settlements in the coalition government.
“The project has bled the city to a tune of R149m and there is nothing to show for it.
“The ANC caucus will ensure that the DA principals account equally for the mess as far as this is concerned,” the ANC said.
Pretoria News