Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala has outlined timelines and a project execution plan to ensure that projects in Limpopo are finished on time and within the project scope and costs.

He has prioritised a coordinated response to addressing the problem of blocked and stalled projects informed by the District Development Model.

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) is currently reviewing all slow-moving projects in Limpopo, and has resolved that a failure to improve on project delivery will lead to harsher consequences, which will apply to those from government overseeing the project execution and contractors assigned to projects.

All contractors working on stalled government projects and still having active contracts have been directed to remedy the problem, Zikalala added.

The Minister met with Limpopo Transport and Community Safety MEC Florence Radzilani to discuss the delayed and stalled projects in the province, including police stations such as Vuwani and others.

The DPWI is in the process of appointing new contractors to work on the Vuwani police station project.

Further, Zikalala and Radzilani have called for immediate consequence management for project managers who delay project implementation, and termination of poor-performing contractors who do not meet timelines to complete projects.

“Delayed projects impact negatively on service delivery by government institutions. When the construction of a police station is delayed, the journey to a safer South Africa led by the South African Police Service is compromised.

“Departments use facilities to render services to the community. A project stalled or delayed is service delivery denied and we have resolved that the DPWI must not be associated with poor performance or workmanship by contractors,” Zikalala averred.

He will also undertake various follow-up visits to the province to ensure oversight and timeous implementation of projects.

Radzilani welcomed the roadmap unveiled by Zikalala to resolve stalled projects in Limpopo, saying that this is the action the community needed. She also welcomed his intervention in the matter, and indicated that this will “bring much-waited-for relief to communities like Vuwani, whose police station had been incomplete for several years.”