Abandoned Tshikota Township´s RDP project underway

A new contractor has at last been appointed to finish the RDP housing project in Tshikota, and residents who have been waiting since 2005 may soon have a permanent roof over their heads.

The Limpopo Department of Local Government and Housing appointed a new contractor to finish the 170 houses that were left incomplete by the first contractor. A construction company called Areageng was unable to finish the R16 million project, leaving behind only the empty cement foundations. The department terminated the contract in December last year and a new contractor, Tasset13, was appointed after several community protest actions were staged. The housing project is now in progress.

The Limpopo MEC for Local Government and Housing, Soviet Lekganyane, said during his visit to the township that his department would not tolerate shoddy developers who did not finish projects after they had been awarded tenders. “Harsh measures will be taken against contractors who do not take their job seriously after being awarded tenders,” he said.

He added that not finishing government projects affected service delivery. “We don’t want service providers who, when awarded a tender, the first thing they think about is to buy a luxury car and forget about the project. We need people who are serious about service,” said Lekganyane.

The residents applauded Lekganyane’s move to appoint a new contractor. One of the future recipients of a house, Gladys Hlongwane, said that she was happy now that the project was in progress and at a final stage. “We have been waiting for houses for very long. We are happy now that the project is underway. This clearly shows that we will soon have our houses,” she said.

Hlongwane, a mother of three, is now staying in a dilapidated one-bedroom shack.

News - Date: 29 October 2010

Peter Muthambi

Peter Muthambi graduated from the University of Venda with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Studies. He started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror as well as national papers in 2006. He loves investigative journalism and is also a very keen photographer.

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