1. The bridges project mentioned in PQ 2027 belongs to Thulamela Local Municipality (TLM). The pertinent details of the project are outlined below.
The Department of Cooperative Governance (DCOG) is responsible, in terms of section 154 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996 among others, to provide support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities including TLM to manage their own affairs, to exercise their powers and to perform their functions. To that end, DCOG through the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) provides technical support to TLM in accordance with the District Development Model (DDM). The MISA technical support includes the following:
The cracks on the bridges are part of the defects that the contractor is required to fix within 21 days from the issue of the Practical Completion Certificate done on 23 May 2022. MISA conducts site visits and inspections to monitor the fixing of the defects as part of the support to TLM.
2. The contractor was instructed to fix the defects, which include the cracks, within 21 days. The days are counted from 23 May 2022 when the Practical Completion Certificate was issued as indicated in the background above.