Pretoria – The Department of Public Works says the construction of the permanent Diepsloot Police station is currently underway and that it is scheduled to be completed in August 2014.
“Construction work is currently going on and the police station is scheduled to be completed in August 2014. It must be pointed out that the police are currently present and fully operational in Diepsloot, being accommodated in temporary structures,” said the department in a statement on Wednesday.
This comes after the bodies of two cousins aged two and three were found in a public toilet in the township, north of Johannesburg, yesterday. The community has raised concerns at the lack of progress in the construction of a police station to service the area.
The department said there had been delays in the construction of the permanent facility due to problems experienced by the original contractor and the subsequent cancellation of the contract.
While construction started in March 2008, in June 2010 the contractor experienced serious cash flow problems with workers not being paid and materials not being paid for.
The department issued the main contractor with warning letters.
“Site instructions were issued, requiring an accelerated programme for the ordering of materials and appointment and payment of subcontractors to proceed with the delayed works. This went on for about three months, and work came to a halt.
“When DPW tried to cancel the contract in September 2010, it was found that creditors had approached the court and the company had been put under judicial management. That process of cancellation of the contract had to be halted to allow the court process to run its course,” explained the department.
After the conclusion of the court process, the contract was cancelled in June 2011.
A new tender process was undertaken and in February 2013 a new contractor was appointed and the site was handed over in March 2013.
The department is overhauling its procurement system to avoid the recurrence of such problems, including credit verification with the banks and evaluating the extent to which a contractor is committed in other works to avoid over committing them.
The department expressed horror and the “senseless and callous mutilation and murder of innocent children in Diepsloot”. – SAnews.gov.za
