The Deputy Minister of Defence Bantu Holomisa has applauded Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba, for rebuilding the state’s capacity to build and maintain roads and reviving its yellow fleet.
Holomisa said this was a great initiative by Ramathuba to improve road construction and maintenance. “Well done Limpopo for reviving the abandoned programme which used to maintain our roads and create permanent jobs. Can other provinces follow suit?”
South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, echoed Holomisa, saying that this was what the governing party stood for: “Let us give credit when it is due! This is the original ANC not diluted by money! The real makoya.”
Handing out caterpillars, Ramathuba said the days of issuing tenders without budgets, were over. She said the point of procuring the caterpillars was to strengthen the Department of Public Works’ mandate of building infrastructure.
“Here, we are building our roads, we must maintain them internally. Not everything must go through a tender, we are fighting because of these tenders.
“People are just being appointed without even a budget. I was with treasury and they were showing me how broke is our administration and yet we are committing, why are we appointing SANRAL’s ( SA Roads Agency Limpopo) CEO when we don’t have money?” the premier asked.
Ramathuba said in future, when officials appointed a company to do a job, they needed to explain where the budget would come from.
The premier said her administration was going to turn things around: “When you commit and there’s money, build that road and when you commit and not build the road, I am coming after you. When you are a service provider and you don’t do the work, we are going to blacklist you. If you are a service provider and you are told to build this road, you must build it.”
The Star
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