The Democratic Alliance (DA) urgently demands that the Gauteng Department of Roads, Transport, and Logistics pay the contractor to resume the upgrades of Solomon Mahlangu Drive and Boeing Road in Centurion, which have been stalled due to nonpayment. This has resulted in traffic congestion, causing delays for motorists and commuters going to and from home.
The widening and maintenance of this key arterial road began in August 2023. The R330 million project was progressing smoothly until the end of March this year when the department informed the contractor of a possible payment delay.
During a recent oversight inspection by the DA to assess the progress of the road upgrades, we discovered that the contractor has still not been paid, and construction work has been stopped. This raises serious questions about the department’s capability to manage its month-to-month budget and pay contractors on time for services rendered.
This is an inconvenience to the public who needs to use this road, and the contractor may not be able to pay salaries on time.
One business park with 300 companies and 9000 personnel has had to spend R40,000 on pointsmen to manage traffic in and out of the office park. This is severely affecting businesses.
The current projects are already facing delays due to poor financial planning, raising questions about how the series of new projects that this department is preparing to launch during the 2025/26 financial year will be completed. The challenge is not the money but the department’s failure to plan and manage its allocated budget under Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s watch.
A DA-led Gauteng provincial government will establish a multi-stakeholder Integrated Infrastructure Management Unit to overhaul all planning, monitoring, implementation activities, and infrastructure maintenance. We will ensure proper financial management of the budget.
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Author: Dorianne Arendse from Democratic Alliance on behalf of Nicole Van Dyk.
