Gauteng residents continue to suffer due to the high cost of living which has been made worse by the ongoing loadshedding, yet the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) has spent R3.7 million on the non-existent Lindley Waste Water Project.
The Lindley Waste Water Project is one of many projects under the Gauteng Infrastructure Finance Agency (GIFA) which are meant to revitalize the economy and create employment opportunities. However, in the past ten years, GIFA has continuously misled the public about the progress regarding the development of capital infrastructure.
During the DA’s oversight inspection at the Lindley Waste Water Project in Lanseria, we were shocked to discover that the project does not exist despite GIFA having spent R3.7 million from the R8 billion budget for the project.
See images here, here and here.
We learnt that it was not possible for GIFA to build a sewer pump project next to BM Foods, a food manufacturer that has been functioning in the area for 35 years because of safety and health concerns.
This is a result of poor planning and failed administration by the current government which continues to fail its residents.
In February 2018, the DA submitted questions on the progress of the project and the MEC confirmed that it was at the commercial close stage and negotiations with Rand Water were still underway.
We also received a project progress report for the 2021/22 financial year which also confirmed that the project is still at the financial close stage. However, we were recently informed that the project is back at the feasibility stage which means they are going back to the drawing board.
The DA is highly concerned that the Lenasia Smart City concept needs a wastewater project of this magnitude, but the government is has made extremely slow progress in building capital infrastructure projects.
The DA will use all mechanisms available to us to pressure GIFA to make public a detailed report on all the provincial capital infrastructure projects. GIFA must also explain and provide evidence on how the R3.7 million of the Lindley Waste Water Project was spent since there is nothing to show for it.
The current Eskom blackouts have exposed the government’s lack of development and maintenance of infrastructure which has severely compromised our water supply system.
Gauteng does not have enough wastewater treatment plants; hence, the government needs to speed up the development process.
The DA will continue to assess all GIFA project sites to establish if these projects do exist. We further emphasise that the government must complete all capital infrastructure projects on time and within budget to help grow the Gauteng economy.