MAHIKENG MAIL - MAHIKENG: The DA said this week they will write to the Department of Public Works MEC Elizabeth Mokua, demanding a full report and thorough investigation into the drainage system after flooding during rainy weather over the weekend.
The DA condemned the North West Department of Public Works for the fiasco on the newly opened Nelson Mandela Drive in Mahikeng, which flooded during the weekend rains. Opened in May 2024 after numerous delays, this road is already showing severe defects.
In 2022, the contract to upgrade the road was awarded to Khosivuyo Logistics CC with an initial budget of R47 million. However, despite Bigen Africa Group’s proposal to halt the construction because Kohisivuyo Logistics did not submit the essential supporting documents, the construction still carried on. The planned completion date was September 2023, which was then extended to November 2023. But by November, the construction still had a long way to go, and the completion date was then extended to March 2024, and the budget ballooned to a whopping R79 million.
Despite the department’s assurances that the additional costs were to cover for storm-water drainage, which was not included on the initial bill of quantities, the recent flooding suggests this essential infrastructure was either poorly implemented or overlooked.
The North West Department of Public Works had an opportunity to do a state-of-the-art road and instil public confidence with this critical four-kilometre road linking Mahikeng to Botswana, but has once again failed the residents.
The DA said they also request an update on the second phase of the project, which was scheduled to begin in September 2024, which includes road expansion to the Danville circle and the construction of a bridge. In response to the recent flooding experienced over the past week on the Nelson Mandela Drive, the Department said they were aware of the storm-water challenges in and around the Mahikeng CBD. To address this, the Department have designed storm-water channels to collect all the storm-water from the Northern parts of Golf View and along the Nelson Mandela Drive Road and deposit it at the lowest point at Molopo River.
“It is important to note that it is the responsibility of the Local Municipality and the Department was only protecting its assets in the spirit of District Development Model DDM. The reason for the recent rehabilitation was as a result of damages of the pavement layers due to water ingress. Due to financial constraints, as part of Phase 1, the Department only constructed the storm-water channel up until Victoria Street.
“As part of Phase 2, the Department will construct the remainder of the storm-water channel all the way to Molopo River and this will deal with the flooding of the road during heavy rainfalls.”
In the interim, the Department has noted storm-water channels in the surrounding area are blocked. Therefore, the municipality is to deploy maintenance teams to unblock these channels to reduce the flow of water to Nelson Mandela Drive,” said the department.
