Fear lessl y the tr uth 2 December 2011
Tzaneen, Modjadjiskloof, Haenertsburg, Letsitele, Phalaborwa, Gravelotte, Giyani, Hoedspruit, Lenyenye, Mica, Mooketsi, Nkowankowa, Ofcolaco, Trichardtsdal
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3838, Tzaneen • 8 Crown Street/Straat 8 • 015 307 7248 • 015 307 7684 • editor@bulletin.us.com • www.bulletin.us.com
R40m down the drain New Police station still not ready after 6 years Louis Roux
louis@bulletin.us.com
Some R40 million wasteful expenditure, five building contractors and six years later Letsitele’s new police palace is now said to be officially opened within the next few months. However, the SA Police could not confirm this. The initial cost of the project was almost R50 million, but due to delays and changes of building contractors this amount escalated to well over R86 million. Earlier this year it was announced that the complex would
be completed by August this year, but serious delays with construction were experienced and the project will soon enter 2012. A sewerage system for the complex has to be completed before the new facility could be operational. A total of five different contractors have so far been involved over a period of six years and at one stage construction was halted for nearly two years, due to “several technical problems”. Our extensive efforts to get more detail on the project from and to verify our information with the SAPS Media Centre in Pretoria, were unsuccessful. An inquiry was sent to Col
Sebola at the Media Centre, who passed it on to Capt Dennis Adriao, who in turn referred it to a divisional commissioner entrusted with new police buildings. We also contacted the site manager of the current contractor, Mr Choga Tapiwa of Zimbabwe, but he was not prepared to release any information on the project, other than to say that “construction has reached the final stage”. It is alleged that favouritism and tenderpreneurship contributed to the long delay and the waste of R40m of rate payers’ money. The department of public works is not involved in the project, and the SA Police is driving it.
This aerial photo of Tzaneen’s new Lifestyle Centre was taken a couple of days before the bulk of the shops opened. The new Fruit & Veg and new Wimpy restaurant will both open next week and a seafood restaurant is said to open early in the new year. So far the new shopping centre is a big hit and shop owners are optimistic that it will continue to draw the crowds. It is especially the huge and very upmarket Checkers that is obviously going to be very popular. The huge variety offered, the cleanliness, the wide aisles, the warm atmosphere of the store and the many new things offered, such as the cheese section offering a variety that has not been seen in Tzaneen before, will no doubt be popular. It is expected that Fruit & Veg will be the other main draw card of the Lifestyle Centre.
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Mega special!
Rachel Sonntag
kry groot teenspoed 3
GTM’s new secret 4
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Big loans for GTM