Corruption and inefficiencies in the public sector cost taxpayer dearly. And in ways that some may not begin to fathom. Buffalo City metro regularly squanders ratepayers’ money on expensive vanity projects which — if they ever materialise — could benefit the metro.
But the benefit can only be felt if they are done well, on time, and within budget. Instead, corruption and inefficiency lead to projects being allocated to hopeless contractors that don’t even pretend to have the capacity to do them. A wilful lack of oversight results in ballooning costs, project overruns and inferior outcomes.
The controversial beachfront projects, the Leighandre “Baby Lee” Jegels Recreational Park, otherwise known as “the stoep”, and Marina Glen are two examples of many such projects. The stoep cost an eye-watering R87m and did not deliver on original expectations. The Marina Glen renovation project suffered extraordinary delays and the costs ballooned from R4m to more than R30m.
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Now the Special Investigating Unit says it has waited more than six months for premier Oscar Mabuyane to sign off on its pending investigation into the two projects. What some may not know is that an SIU investigation comes with a hefty price tag which, ironically, must be paid by the entity being investigated. In other words, BCM ratepayers pay twice, to fund a failed or inferior project and then to have it investigated. The SIU revealed in September last year that departments, provinces, and municipalities owed it about R1.1bn in fees for investigations it has conducted.
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