No corruption in Kanye sanitation project – Gov’t
Spira Tlhankane | Monday September 29, 2025 06:19
It was claimed that the project, which was initially set at P707 million, had it costs ballooning to P3.3 billion. The project, which comprises a 480-km pipeline, 11 pump stations, and wastewater treatment works, was originally scheduled to run from October 2017 to October 2019 but has since been extended to later this year. Speaking during a site visit here on Tuesday, Ramogapi said the costs are justifiable, looking at many factors like the rocky area and unplanned layouts, which resulted in cost escalation.
“There has been a wide perception that there is corruption in this project,” he told the project team and members of the media.
“I have surveyed and looked at the books, and I am satisfied with where the money went.”
Ramogapi revealed he was the first minister to visit the site, adding that the purpose of the tour was to assess and eventually address some onsite challenges he had been told about.
He was quick to indicate that underestimating hard rock in the village was a big factor that led to the doubling of the budget.
The minister indicated that the consultant made trial pits and concluded that the gross estimation of the quantities of rocks in the project site was eight percent.
The minister has previously told parliament that it was discovered that the consultant erred by not sampling deep enough.
'Their trial pits did not go beyond 5m depth, as the majority of the pipes were laid at that depth. Further investigation that was carried out during construction revealed that the gross estimation of the quantities of rocks was in the range of 80% to 90%,” he revealed.
'The increase in rock quantities required an increase in imports of soft materials for backfilling, as the excavated material was not suitable for the same. The materials were also obtained from alternative sources requiring longer haulage distance due to the suspension of sand mining in the southern part of the country and the closure of Moshaneng Quarry.”
During the visit, Ramogapi also cited accessibility to the land as one of the factors that led to additional costs.
“Landowners were there uncompensated and negotiations reached a deadlock leading to a change of layouts,” he added.
It was revealed last month that the contractor Estate Construction (Pty) Ltd has been instructed to pay 51 property owners.
A total of 65 cases were resolved through other mechanisms, mostly removing and reinstating boundary fences or rerouting the pipeline.
The government said P24.3 million had been used to pay for the compensation of affected property owners.
Ramogapi said one of the things that gobbled the budget was that the government failed to pay the contractor on time.
“If you fail to pay the contractor in time, the latter is forced to take a loan from banks, leading to more costs,” he said.
Ramogapi, in the last Parliament sitting, apologised to resident of Kanye for taking more time than planned to complete the sanitation project, which was supposed to take 48 months of construction.
He also revealed that the Kanye Sanitation Project was at the tail end of construction, and that progress is currently at 98.8%.
Looking back at the genesis of the Kanye Sanitation Project, the then Department of Waste Management and Pollution Control (DWMPC) carried out a detailed design of the works and completed it in 2007.
The project was later transferred to the then Ministry of Mineral Energy and Water Affairs in February 2013, during the water sector reforms.
The construction contract was awarded to Estate Construction (Pty) Ltd on August 10, 2015, after a Lobatse High Court ruling on July 15, 2015. The Contractor accepted the award on August 11, 2015, and was to take 48 months. The contractor was awarded at P707 million.
The project encountered challenges during the implementation due to increased rock quantities, long haulage of materials, and access to the site due to properties.
These increased the duration of the project, causing it to take longer to complete, resulting in cost escalation to P3.3 billion, including claims of P701.3 million.
The Kanye emergency project focuses on the rehabilitation of the water infrastructure in 12 identified wards, and is an abstract from the initially conceived Kanye/Moshupa water rehabilitation project.
Due to financial constraints, only areas identified to have acute water shortages were identified for rehabilitation, and these consist of the 12 wards where rehabilitation work is being focused.