Transport and Public Works:
- (a) When was the last upgrade and maintenance of the R43 and (b) who was the contractor assigned to this project;
- whether the contractor was in any way liable for the poor state of the road; if so, what steps have been taken by his Department to recover costs incurred for the poor quality of work done so far?
(1) (a) The original contract C1093: The Periodic Maintenance of Trunk Road 30 Section 1 from Langhoogte (km 0.0) to Villiersdorp (km 22.43) and Trunk Roas 30 Section 2 from Villiersdorp (km 0.38) to Worcester (km 12.00) was awarded on 12/10/2018.
(1) (b) The contractor was WTW Civils (Pty) (Ltd).
The original contract period was 9 months. An extension of time was granted to the contractor until October 2019. The contractor failed to complete the works by October 2019 and contractual penalties were applied. The Department eventually terminated the contract on 27 March 2020.
A new contract to complete the outstanding works of the terminated contract C1093 was awarded to iMvula Roads & Civils (Pty) Ltd on 9 December 2020. This contract has reached practical completion on 27 May 2021.
(2) The poor performance of WTW Civils (Pty) Ltd, the termination of their contract and the procurement of a new contractor contributed to the worsening condition of TR30/1 and TR30/2 (the R43) and substantially increased the total cost to complete the works.
WTW Civils (Pty) Ltd has since gone into liquidation. The Department’s legal counsel are in contact with the appointed Liquidators in an effort to recover at least some of the additional costs to the Department as a result of WTW’s failure to complete the works.
