The North West District Council (NWDC) has agreed to put on hold its resolution of suing the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) for the roads damages caused by a company it has engaged for the ongoing Maun Water Supply and Sanitation project, pending mediation efforts.
This follows after North West District Commissioner Thabang Waloka’s suggestion that instead of the legal route, council should first give his office, that of council chairman and council secretary the chance to engage both WUC and the contractor about the issue to find a solution. The councilors have however vowed to proceed with their resolution to drag WUC before court should the proposed engagement by the district commissioner fail to bear fruit.
Tabling the motion, Boyei ward councilor, Ntlogelang Kebonyekgotla said ever since the project started there have been complaints coming from the public that the contractor continues to cause a trail of damage to their properties. In addition, the councilor said they have also observed that council road infrastructure-this being gravel, paved and tarred roads are also destroyed by the same contractor.
The complaint according to Kebonyekgotla is that after causing these damages, the contractor thereafter does not make repairs and if it does, they are substandard. “Ever since the project started, councilors have always raised complaints about what is happening but the issue was never addressed by WUC which engaged this contractor,” Kebonyekgotla emphasised.
He added, “the procedure is that when the project is being implemented, if there are any damage caused to any existing property it has to be repaired. We were promised that from the initial stage of the contract but as time went on when complains were lodged, residents were not properly assisted.”
The councilor complained that every year council is allocated an already limited budget to repair these roads. “The council is using government funds to repair the damages caused by a company that has already received another funding from government as well.”
Kebonyekgotla said what they wanted as councilors was for NWDC attorneys to sue WUC for the corporation to either repair the damages caused or compensate council. The councilor is worried that as the project nears completion, it may be difficult for the contractor to make repairs or pay compensation once they leave site. This he said is the reason they wanted the process to be expedited so that all the complaints are resolved before the contractor leaves site.
NWDC chairman, Itumeleng Kelebetseng also buttressed that the issue dates far back, adding that councilors have always complained that it’s not being addressed, hence the decision to sue WUC. “The district commissioner has assured to seek dialogue but councilors have agreed to continue with their decision should that fail,” he noted.
