The DA in Modimolle-Mookgopong will request the acting municipal manager, Lekubu Charles Malema, to conduct an urgent audit into the 2025 Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) projects.
This comes after two contractors requested to extend the timeline on two internal street and stormwater projects despite projects already being severely behind schedule and millions if rands allocated.
In Phagameng, Extension 8: Phomolong, a project for the construction of 36 km of internal streets and stormwater control with a budget of R7 351 074, commenced on 15 August 2024. The contractor could not meet the completion deadline of 30 August 2025 and requested an extension.
It is concerning that the project is currently only at 22.27% of physical progress and 22.02% expenditure, clearly way behind schedule.
The road project in Ward 13 is suffering a similar fate; the completion date was the 20 May 2025, but the completion date has been extended twice. The budget is R36 380 606 and the physical progress is currently at 82% with 90% of the budget utilised.
These delayed projects continue to frustrate residents daily who have to make use of severely neglected streets and who risk storm damage of their homes and property because of poor or no storm water systems.
The incomplete projects further inconvenience residents and will impede emergency vehicles in the event of a fire or accident ; trenches, piles of paving bricks, and large mounds of gravel and soil are on pavements and blocking entrances to homes. (see photos here, and here)
Project extensions are indicative of officials not effectively monitoring projects and is tantamount to negligence and a lack of consequence management.
All these extensions were agreed with to with penalties in terms of the contracts; these penalties must be enforced.
The DA will ensure that these penalties are taken into account at the handover of the Certificate of Completion before final payments are made; contractors cannot benefit from extensions while residents suffer.