Tshwnane council cutbacks halt projects
Tshwane Metro Council's decision to cut back on spending has brought several projects to a standstill and left one community without a primary health care facility.
The Pretoria News visited three construction sites across Tshwane which were once bustling with workers but are now only watched over by one or two security guards.
The R24 million Tshwane metro police Region 1 headquarters in Unit U, Mabopane is about halfway complete while upgrades and extensions to the Stanza Bopape Clinic in Mamelodi are not further than the foundation phase.
Similar upgrades at the Lotus Garden Clinic, west of Pretoria, required that the small facility shut down to allow for the work to commence. Now, five months after the work started, the building is nowhere near completion, forcing the community to trek to the Kalafong Hospital near Atteridgeville, indefinitely.
The current Tshwane administration under mayor Dr Gwen Ramokgopa has experienced serious financial difficulties which have been attributed to its inability to rein in debtors and implement an effective billing system.
Last week, Co-operative and Traditional Affairs Minister Sicelo Shiceka described Tshwane as one of the "most vulnerable municipalities" in Gauteng and slammed the city for the problems it was experiencing with its billing system.
"It leaves much to be desired and it also shows that all is not well when the city manager (Kiba Kekana) is suspended," he said.
An official at the Lotus Gardens site, who does not want to be identified, said the clinic was closed in October last year to allow the work to start in November, but contractors left the site about a week ago.
"Everything is still here; the window frames, cement, bricks and machines, but there is no money."
The new metro police headquarters and the Stanza Bopape Clinic upgrade contracts were awarded to SSS Cornerstone Building and Steel Construction last year.
Company owner Simon Marothi said the council had paid him only R11m of the total R24m for the metro police project while only R5m (half of the total amount) was paid for the Stanza Bopape contract.
"I received a letter last week saying that I must close the (metro police) site. This is the second time I have had to close the site because of lack of funds," he said.
Marothi was told he could expect funds again when the new financial year starts on July 1.
Tshwane mayoral committee member responsible for finance, Ernie Jacobson said the cutbacks were necessary to stabilise the council's financial situation.
When Jacobson took over as MMC in October last year the council was operating with a negative cash flow and had an R800m overdraft.
"That overdraft has been reduced. We formulated an adjustment budget and implemented the cutbacks to stabilise the cash flow.
"The new budget has been approved for May 27, so within two months the projects will be funded again," he said.
Jacobson said the Lotus Gardens project was being given special attention because of the critical services provided to the community at the facility.
Pretoria News
The man said the community was forced to use facilities at Kalafong Hospital or clinics in Atteridgeville, but this meant additional taxi fare and inconvenience.
Posted at 09:44AM Mar 08, 2010 by Editor in Market |