POLITICS

District Six tender terminated due to DRDLR incompetence - DA WCape

Fikile Construction was found to be incapable of rendering the services necessary

District Six tender terminated due to Department’s incompetence

15 July 2018

Phase 3 of the District Six land reform programme, which was scheduled for completion by July 2018, has been halted due to the tender for the Durban-based Fikile construction company having been terminated. Fikile Construction was found to be incapable of rendering the services necessary years after having been awarded the tender by the National Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.

I call again on the Minister of Rural Development and Land reform, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, to account for the public funds wasted on this project between 2015 and 2017 when Fikile Construction was in possession of the project tender. I further call on Minister Nkoana-Mashabane to explain these delays to the expectant District Six land claimants in the Western Cape.

To add insult to injury, Fikile Construction is a Durban-based company. The Department could have used this project to award a local tender in the Western Cape and create jobs for locals involved.

After 20 years, the National Department of Rural Development and Land reform is still holding the rights of the District Six community at ransom. The contract with Fikile Construction was terminated as a result of the firm’s failure to comply with its contractual obligations, forcing the company to abandon the project two years into the tender.

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform is currently the development manager for District Six Phase 3, coordinating the development of only108 units for the eligible beneficiaries from the remaining 1062 claimants still waiting. The entire project was expected to be completed in July 2018. However, it has only allocated 139 homes to date.

I further call on the Department to draft a new tender process and make the timelines available to claimants and the public immediately.

The Department, through its Principal Agent, should verify the existing work done by Fikile Construction and once that process has been finalized, a new specification, bill of quantities and tender documents must be drafted. A new tender process must then follow and the timelines thereof must be made available at a later stage.

The DA in the Western Cape is committed to creating safe and inclusive communities that residents can be proud of and enjoy.

Statement issued by Matlhodi Maseko MPP, DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Human Settlements, 15 July 2018