Dissatisfaction with delays in dam project

COPE's Vhembe regional chairperson, Cllr Geoffrey Tshibvumo, expressed dissatisfaction with the delays in the completion of the Nandoni Dam project. This was in reaction to the Vhembe District Municipality's state-of-the-district address, which was presented by the executive mayor, Cllr Tshitereke Matibe, last Thursday.

Tshibvumo focussed on the scarcity of running water to most areas in the district and indicated that this was due to a misallocation of tenders. The executive mayor acknowledged that the Nandoni dam project had been delayed because of the continuous changing of pipes. “But he (Matibe) said nothing about the reasons behind this continuous changing of pipes, and whether the project specification had been followed to the letter or not,” he said.

“What are the steps that VDM, through the office of the executive mayor, is going to take in order to recover the lost money?” he asked. “This kind of misallocation of tenders and changing of pipes led to too many tenders being advertised to do a job that should have been finished long ago by the first contractors.”

He then called for the VDM to consider doing away with the process of giving tenders for patronage. “We cannot forever base our excuses on the Nandoni dam project,” he said. “The municipality has been dealing with this project for more than 15 years and this is unacceptable. Let us be firm (when awarding tenders), and look for people who are more knowledgeable. Then our communities will have water.”

News - Date: 25 July 2014

Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

Email: [email protected]