Ten years later and still no fresh produce market

MBOMBELA - The Mpumalanga Fresh Produce Market ground to a halt six months ago.

Since the start of the project in 2012, it was marred by interruptions due to planning issues, consulting problems, a budget shortfall, the total collapse of the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency, strikes by the community, non-payment of contractors and a string of red tape.

Not one subcontractor can be found at the building site. Only the main contractor, Enza Construction, is still involved, not on-site, but around boardroom tables, in an effort to resolve the monetary crisis it has with the provincial Department of Public Works.

The last contractor to close shop and leave was Mandlakazi Electrical, the main electrical contractor. Enza apparently still owes them around R10m, despite promises that payment will be forthcoming from them once public works pays them.

Gary Coetzee, the owner of Mandlakazi Electrical, said they are still owed millions. “We will only go back to the site and continue with our contract after all outstanding funds have been paid.”

Bongani Dhlamini, the spokesman for public works, said according to their information, the last outstanding R8.7m should have been paid by August 19. This has apparently still not been done. “We also discovered that Enza seems to be having their own cash flow problems, and could therefore not pay their subcontractor, even though we had paid them. We are now looking at other avenues to fast-track the project to be completed sooner.”

Enza did not respond when asked for comment.

In the meantime, Jane Sithole, the DA leader, took the Provincial Government to task about the defunct Mpumalanga Cultural Hub conceptualised by DD Mabuza in 2011 to assist small-scale farmers with subsistence farming.

According to a report from the Mpumalanga Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation, R3.4m was recently spent on “advisory fees” for the hub. “This brings the total to nearly R151m of taxpayers’ money that has been poured into this non-existent project,” Sithole said. “We recently did an oversight of this infamous project supposed to be built in White River, but were met with only a bare piece of land. It is a travesty that even a penny more is spent on this ghost project. It is time for the looting and theft to stop!”

Efforts to get financial information about the project were unsuccessful, and the party will submit a Promotion of Access to Information Act of 2000 application to access the budgetary details of this project.

“The public deserves to know exactly what happened to the R151m that had been spent on this project so far,” Sithole said.

The matter will also be referred to the Special Investigating Unit for investigation.

‘The public deserves to know exactly what happened to the R151m that had been spent on this project so far’