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Where is the money? Nothing can be seen of the promised development of residential units Marti Will mwill@volksblad.com
What has happened to the R222 million awarded by the national government to the Free State Department of Human Settlements to develop the new G Hostel of residential units in Thabong? The contract was awarded to Mafuri Turnkey Accelerated, and the site was handed over to the company on 14 August 2014. The project was scheduled to be completed within 18 months – by January 2016. On completion, the notorious G Hostel and the ladies hostel would have been demolished, and the legal South Africans occupying the old structures were to be rehoused. “In 2014, the municipality moved 500 to 700 people to the non-serviced area next to the Tisha Vanga Bridge. These people were previously on site 8225,” says Michael Letutu, spokesperson for the G Hostel Concerned Residents Forum, a registered non-governmental organisation. “They remain on this site, although some of the displaced settlers have found other informal settlements where they can live.” Vista is in possession of various minutes of meetings held in 2015 and 2016. It was noted in the minutes of a meeting held on 13 October 2015 that a three-month delay in the project was due to the moving of the informal settlers. The project description entailed 46 three- and four-storey buildings, including electrical wiring and plumbing, and proper access to water and sanitation. There was also to have been 3 500 m2 of roads and parking lots. A storm water drainage system and 570 m of palisade fencing were also included in the project description. Despite notes in emails and meeting minutes claiming that 100 % of the
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The The project project is is still still funded, funded, and and it it is is due to commence this financial year. due to commence this financial year. – – Senne Senne Bogatsu Bogatsu
When Vista visited the abandoned site on Monday (09/04), no cement foundation could be seen. Only a thin layer of gravel has ever been laid out on a small strip of the site. Photo: Marti Will
fencing was complete, there is still no visible trace of fencing. The minutes also state that cement foundation blocks were laid. When Vista, accompanied by Letutu, visited the abandoned site on Monday (09/04), only a vast expanse of emptiness could be seen. He pointed out that only a thin layer of gravel has ever been laid out on a small strip of the site. It was noted in the minutes of a meeting held on 13 October 2015 that the developer Mafuri always changes the decisions of the project steering
committee, which has a negative impact on the progress of a project. In August 2016, all project workers were given notice by the sub-contractor LGE Construction due to non-payment. According to Kgojane Matutle, spokesperson for the Matjhabeng Municipality, the question of what has happened to the project – and the money – must be addressed to the Free State Department of Human Settlements. “The Matjhabeng Local Municipality has done its part in the project. We
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have availed the land, and compiled and verified the list. The provincial Department of Human Settlements, as the funder, is in a better position to give the reasons why the project has halted,” he told Vista. Senne Bogatsu, director of corporate communication, says the project was terminated due to non-performance by the contractor. “The project is still funded, and it is due to commence this financial year (2018/’19). It will accommodate those who qualify for government subsidised housing,” says Bogatsu.
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