The residents of Vuwani Township are at loggerheads with the Makhado Municipality over an uncompleted street-surfacing project in the township. This comes after the Nelspruit-based Makasana Construction company was unable to complete the two-kilometre street-surfacing project.

The company, which was appointed in March last year, was expected to complete the project in August last year. According to members of the Vuwani community, the contractor not only failed to complete the project on time, but the work that he had already done is not up to standard.

Members of the community pointed out that the contractor was appointed to construct a tarred street in the township. The street now more resembles a gravel road. The budgeted cost of the project was R8 million. The residents added that the contractor had already received R3 million. "What action is the municipality taking in this regard?" they wanted to know.

When Mirror visited the site last Thursday, part of the street which was reconstructed already boasted numerous potholes and the quality of the surface was so poor that one could see the ground underneath. The other part of the street looks like an old gravel road.

Ms Thizwilondi Sadiki, a project steering committee member from Vuwani, told Mirror that they had tried to advise the contractor when he started with the project, but he refused to listen to them. "The project is not completed. Although we expected a quality product when the contractor was appointed, the street now looks more like a gravel road. When we tried to raise our concerns with the contractor, he never wanted to listen to us and he continued making mistakes on the street. He messed up," said Sadiki.

Sadiki, who is also chairperson for the South African Civic Organisation in the township, said they were now faced with a serious problem. The way that the street was constructed causes rainwater to flood her house. "There was a leaking water pipe when the contractor was busy on the street next to my house. I told him about the busted water pipe, but he refused to listen. He went on with construction without fixing the water pipes that got busted. Now I am suffering, as I sleep in a pool of water in my bedroom," she said.

She added that she tried to communicate the problem to the municipal officials at the Vuwani offices, but they also ignored her. The issue is now causing tension between the residents, the Makhado Municipality, SANCO and other community-based organizations.

Attempts to reach the Makasana Construction Company were fruitless. The phone kept on ringing without any response. The Makhado Municipality´s spokesperson, Mr Louis Bobodi, could not be reached for comment.