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Yet another tender mess

SERVICE delivery has been dealt a severe blow by yet another tender gone wrong.

This time around, the community of Tweefontein in Mpumalanga have felt the repercussions. The community's safety has been compromised by the delay in the completion of a police station.

Five years ago, a R20-million tender was awarded to Roux Property Development Africa, a construction company owned by one Roux Shabangu, which was to complete the complex.

The building was to have been completed by September 2010 but the contractor halted work in July that year. Shabangu had already been paid R13-million and it is understood 80% of the work had already been done.

The project stalled when the company supplying building material stopped due to non-payment. Now the Department of Public Works and the contractor are each claiming the supplier needed to be paid by the other.

The bickering has caused the community dearly as it has for almost two years had to make do without the service. Residents have to walk about 15km to the nearest police station at KwaMhlanga.

This has also been costly as the contractor appointed to complete the construction of the station has been paid R13-million, which brings the total amount paid to date to R6-million more than the initial budgeted amount of R20-million.

We are, however, comforted by the fact that the new contractor has been given a strict deadline to complete the project, which is to start operating on July 19.

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