Bakgatla report council to DC

Tefo Pheage | Tuesday September 20, 2016 17:19

Balli’s 10-man committee recently resorted to take up the matter with the DC citing their delayed payments and poor communication from the Council. According to the minutes, the Balli delegation told the DC that should he also delay in assisting them in resolving the matter, they will be left with no other choice but to appeal to the permanent secretary. They stated that the Kgatleng administration seems to be taking the residents lightly when residents are living in terrible state. The group further said it was now more than five years since they raised the issue, but the council has done nothing to address their concerns. They said it was the delays and lack of communication that has brought them to seek the DC’s intervention.

The DC has confirmed receiving the aggrieved party’s correspondence but told them that the matter is before an arbitrator who has been paid. “He mentioned that he will urge the council secretary to act speedily to get the matter to rest as it continues to affect the residents. He said he will discuss with the council secretary and as soon as feedback is availed, he will call a meeting to give us a full feedback,” reads the minutes signed by Balli and the DC’s secretary. Both the council and the contractor are understood to be pointing fingers at each other over who should shoulder the burden of compensation and they have referred the matter for arbitration. According to the council, the initial agreement with the contractor was that the contractor should seek insurance to cover for possible damages to property that could arise as a result of the execution of the project. The council further says the expectation was that after the completion of the road project, the insurance company would come and assess the properties for damages with a view to compensating where necessary.

“The contractor proceeded as expected, however there was a long delay by the insurance provider to act. The assessor came and only did a sample test along all roads and produced a one-page document, which alleged that tests had revealed that the machinery used during construction could not have affected any of the properties and therefore the contractor was not liable to compensate,” the letter further says.

The contractor, Monamodi Madille told Mmegi that the matter is still before arbitration and all questions should be directed there. The firm representative however said that the matter has long been brought to finality and is before the parties. It is understood that the verdict was not in favour of the Council.