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Excuses for infrastructure backlog

While the Education Department tries to address an infrastructure backlog of nearly R80 billion, project managers such as Ithala and the Independent Development Trust have been hauled over the coals by the KZN legislature’s finance portfolio committee for shoddy workmanship and lengthy delays in project completion. Yesterday, committee chairwoman Belinda Scott (ANC) said she did not understand why the two entities took on projects that they were unable to deliver on. Scott said that the organisations received “substantial” amounts of money from the government, and that the explanations offered to MPLs for incomplete work were “too little, too late”.

Scott said the auditor-general found that poor project management meant that 18 school construction projects valued at R56 million were not timeously completed, and that registration of contractors was not checked before contracts were awarded. She said most of the problematic projects were the responsibility of Ithala and the development trust, not the Public Works Department. The auditor-general’s report stated that the trust and Ithala’s performance as implementing agents was unacceptable, as they failed to verify whether contractors could deliver. Scott said shoddy building was also concerning. Exposed electrical wiring had been found at one school.

A development trust official said the process of selecting contractors was stringent, but acknowledged that “certain things could have been done better”. Ithala said that it had qualified people and the capacity to deliver, and that all issues raised had been resolved. However, Scott said its project management had been “seriously bad”. She said that protocol was now being developed by the Public Works Department and provincial Treasury, whereby all plans for infrastructure projects would have to be vetted and approved. Education superintendent-general Nkosinathi Sishi estimated that his infrastructure backlog stood at nearly R80bn, and said even if he received advances on his infrastructure budget for the next decade, it would be insufficient. His current budget is R2.5bn.

Source: iol.co.za

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Excuses for infrastructure backlog

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