Agriculture
(1) Whether any of the large contracts required to proceed with the work on the Clanwilliam Dam has been awarded; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) whether the construction work is being undertaken at the expected pace; if not, what can his Department do to implore the national departments responsible to ensure that the work can proceed as planned?
(1) The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is responsible for the raising of the Clanwilliam Dam wall. Currently the project is in the implementation and construction phase.
(a) To date, DWS has already advertised 17 national bids (bids larger than R 1 000 000) for the procurement of critical goods and specialist services. Only two of these are in the procurement processes, i.e. tender bids have been concluded. Challenges during the procurement process resulted in the remaining bids not being awarded. The two bids awarded can be regarded as non-critical and therefore do not allow for the commencement or continuation of construction activities as identified in the project programme.
These awarded bids are:
(i) DWS02-0419WTE: The provision of Occupational Health Assessments and Monitoring for the Department of Water and Sanitation Construction South at the Clanwilliam Dam in the Western Cape (medical surveillance); and
(ii) DWS11-0319WTE: The supply of bulk cement to the Department of Water and Sanitation, Clanwilliam Dam
(b) The completion of construction was scheduled for April 2025. Delays in the procurement processes impacted on the revised completion date for construction and was last foreseen to be completed in April 2026. Due to said procurement challenges, construction is currently on hold whilst only 12% of the project has been completed. The Department of Water and Sanitation is currently in the process of considering a new implementation model that involves the appointment of the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) as an Implementing Agent to carry out the implementation of the project.
The DBSA has the expertise and capacity to manage large infrastructure projects. It also has the financial structures, systems and controls to comply with the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999 (PFMA) and the National Treasury’s Framework for Infrastructure Procurement and Delivery Management (FIPDM).
Once the DBSA is appointed, the procurement of goods and specialist services will start in all earnest. The project is currently behind schedule and the completion date will need to be revised once a new proposed implementation mode has been approved.
(2) The Clanwilliam Dam raising project falls under the Department of Water and Sanitation, as such, the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Provincial Government of the Western Cape only have recourse in terms of imploring action through cooperative governance and the official Intergovernmental Relations structures.
