Work on Asla Park clinic not abandoned

Work on the much-awaited Asla Park Clinic has had to come to a halt due to poor workmanship, however, the project has not been abandoned.

The project resulted from PetroSA’s commitment to the Social and Labour Plan for the South Coast Gas (SCG) production right.

In 2013, PetroSA entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Western Cape Department of Health to build a community health clinic.

"After our usual tender process we appointed a company to construct the facility, however, in December 2016, PetroSA had to terminate its services due to poor workmanship and failure of the contractor to adhere to the stipulations of the agreed schedule plan as outlined in the Joint Buildings Contract Committee (JBCC)," PetroSA group communication manager Lynne Jacobs told the Mossel Bay Advertiser.

As part of the termination arrangement which took six months, the contractor was only compensated for the work completed at the site and PetroSA appointed a security company to secure the site.

"The usual tender process was followed. We advertised on 29 June and PetroSA is in the process of finalising the appointment of a new service provider. We hope that all processes will be concluded before the end of 2017 and that the project will continue as soon as possible. All stakeholders, such as the Mossel Bay Municipality, the Western Cape Department of Health and the Petroleum Agency of South Africa, and the directly-affected ward councillors for Wards 2, 3 and 11 have been kept abreast of the issues and the processes followed that have resulted in the delays.

"We truly regret the delays but they were unavoidable. It is our sincere wish as PetroSA to deliver a world-class facility that can proudly serve the community," Jacobs says.