Gauteng MEC for road and transport Kedibone Diale Tlabela has apologies to Mamelodi residents for the delayed of the k69 project known as Solomon Mahlangu drive.
This comes after the subcontractor and workers halted work due to non-payment.
MEC visited the project on Wednesday morning and meet with the main contractor and subcontractors to clarify the payment issues.
Subcontractors and workers are complaining every month about the delayed of payment.
The disgruntled workers and sub-contractors are calling on the department of transport to get their house in order.
The R285 million projects missed their deadline two years ago. The k69 project known as Solomon Mahlangu was launched in 2019 to ease traffic congestion during peak hours.
Speaking to Tshwane Talks Gauteng MEC for transport and logistics Kedibone Diale Tlabela said this is one of the projects as the department that has challenges.
It has not been completed for quiet sometimes and it’s not within the budget that has been budgeted for and it’s has characterise by lots of challenges itself.
This is not an easy project, and we really appreciate people of Mamelodi for being patients with us as the government and its now toward being completed.
“I would like to apologies to the residents of Mamelodi for the delay of the project and it been long overdue,” MEC Tlabela said.
She said we want to thank the community, the workers and subcontractors of Mamelodi because they are the one who have been carrying this project for quiet sometimes.
I took over last year in October 2022 it has already been running and it was not completed and now there is progress that we have registered,” she said.
She said the issues of payments is a glitch in the system and how officials of government work, but we are getting it right and that’s why today they are celebrating that they are going to have a better Christmas and they will all be paid.
The main contractor has had challenges and most of the challenges as she checks historically has been because the department has not been cordially inter engaging with the main contractor and that’s why the main contractor ended up having challenges of cash flow.
“We have sorted payment issues, and we are hopeful that by March 2024 we will be handing over the project back to people of Mamelodi,” MEC Tlabela said.
Angry worker Tshidi Mokwena said ever since she started working in this project there has been a delay in the payment every month and no month pass by where there are no stories of payment.
“We are tired of the stories we hear and every month before we get our money we must protest, shut down site and MEC must come down and address the issues of payment,” Mokwena said.
She hopes MEC to sort out this mess because they don’t want to spent bleak Christmas.
Sub-contractor Fire Mashaba said each and every month before we get payment we must hire taxis and go to the department.
The best way for the department is to stop this project and get the budget first and when they come here they must know that there is a budget for the project and every month when sub-contractors sent invoices we must get payment so that that we can pay our workers.
“We are suffering and the issue of the budget that they are talking about it is not our faults.
It is the management the way they are managing the budgeting for this project. They are humiliating the community of Mamelodi and enough is enough,” Mashaba said.
