The Department of Water and Sanitation notes the submission that there are 71% Regional Bulk Infrastructure projects that are delayed which have resulted in cost escalations of R9, 4 billion. These figures are from the Auditor General (AG) findings report, which states the following:
The Department acknowledges that, per findings by the Auditor General in a report to the Portfolio Committee on the 2022/23 Annual Report, there have been delays on a number of projects over a period of time due to numerous reasons including:
In terms of the Department’s report to the Portfolio Committee on its 2022/23 Annual Report, the DWS reported an achievement of 5 out of 13 RBIG funded projects in the year under review and further indicated that there were delays for the following projects:
Project name |
District municipality |
Project start date |
Initial completion date |
Revised completion date |
Original project cost |
Revised project cost |
Mpumalanga |
||||||
Driekoppies phase 1A |
Ehlanzeni DM |
03 September 2018 |
18 September 2020 |
The project is undergoing a litigation process a revised completion date will be known once the courts have decided on the matter |
R96 743 094 |
Cost not revised |
Empuluzi/Methula RBWS phase 3B |
Gert Sibande DM |
22 May 2020 |
28 March 2023 |
30 April 2024 |
78 698 005 |
Cost not revised** |
Empuluzi/Methula phase 5, 6 & 7 |
Gert Sibande DM |
04/03/2021 |
14/12/2023 |
30 April 2024 |
194 472 739 |
Cost not revised*** |
Kwa Zulu Natal |
||||||
Driefontein BWS |
Chris Hani DM |
Jan 2011 |
Dec 2021 |
Not yet determined |
R397 742 111 |
Not yet determined |
Eastern Cape |
||||||
Cluster 9 BWS |
Chris Hani DM |
Sept 2010 |
Nov 2022 |
Feb 2024 |
R254 695 667 |
R485 700 000 |
Cluster 4 BWS |
Chris Hani DM |
Apr 2022 |
May 2023 |
Mar 2024 |
R427 099 000 |
R849 474 094 |
Cluster 6 BWS |
Chris Hani DM |
Jun 2010 |
May 2023 |
Jan 2025 |
R323 952 670 |
R474 323 951 |
Limpopo |
||||||
Nebo BWS |
Sekhukhune DM |
Jan 2009 |
Jul 2016 |
Aug 2024 |
R1 379 080 |
R700 000 |
Free State |
||||||
Ngwathe Bulk Water Supply Phase 2 |
Fezile Dabi DM |
Jul-2020 |
Dec-22 |
Jun- 25 |
R129 027 000 |
R249 2961 47 |
Based on the project list provided above, the projects collectively do not add up to 9.4 billion as some are funded over multiple years and others have no revised costs. Even where there are cost escalations, it is not anticipated that it will amount to R9.4 billion.
There was a fatality caused by flooding which led to the Department of Labour closing the site for investigations. Currently the site is opened, the contractor working and project to be completed by June 2024
DWS is actively implementing the recommendations made by the Auditor General in its 2022/23 Budgetary Review Report for improving RBIG Project Management. For instance, in relation to the Auditor General’s recommendation that the project management unit must be adequately capacitated with the right skills to drive the performance targets that have been set for RBIG colleagues, the DWS introduced a new structure in 2022 to address such capacity and skills inadequacies and inefficiencies. The DWS has reconfigured the structure strategically, which has resulted in a dedicated Branch for Water and Sanitation Services Management to provide support to municipalities on activities such as, project planning, project management, monitoring. The branch is capacitated by professional engineers who are now supporting municipalities.
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