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Concerns raised after #Estina, #Ramkraal meeting fails

───   KATLEHO MORAPELA 13:36 Wed, 23 Oct 2019

Concerns raised after #Estina, #Ramkraal meeting fails | News Article

Opposition parties in the Free State Legislature have expressed their disappointment with the meeting that was supposed to address progress reports of the controversial Vrede Dairy Project and the Ramkraal Project.


This, as the joint Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts and Finance, including Public Works, Infrastructure, Roads, Transport and Human Settlements, failed to discuss these multimillion-rand projects due to what the opposition referred to as the Chairperson’s failure to provide essential documents or to invite relevant stakeholders.

The DA’s David van Vuuren, EFF’s Malefane Msimanga, and Freedom Front Plus’s Devar Smit all criticised Chairperson Sarah Moleleki for failing to make proper arrangements. While Van Vuuren expressed his disappointment with the level of Moleleki’s professionalism, Msimanga went on to tell the House that opposition parties are “taken for a ride”. Smit added that it is also shameful that this Committee has not sat for over five months since the start of the 6th administration.

The joined committee sitting was also expected to outline how investigations into these two projects have been progressing and whether the Ramkraal project will ever materialise.

The Old Ramkraal Prison in Bloemfontein was allocated R120 million for refurbishments by the provincial government to house the Free State Legislature nearly a decade ago, but to date the project stands dilapidated with millions unaccounted for.

Similar to the multimillion-rand Vrede Dairy Project, this project has over the years drawn much controversy with opposition parties in the Legislature demanding answers as to where the R120 million, allegedly spent on the site, was applied.

Interim findings of a special audit by the Office of the Auditor-General (AG), presented before the 5th administration committee last year November, indicated that a total of R107 million remained unaccounted for.

The AG’s Odwa Duda, during the November meeting, revealed that no feasibility study, which is one of the prerequisites for projects, was carried out. It was also revealed that consultants in this project were appointed without proper procurement processes and no service level agreements were signed between the Department of Public Works and the consultants.

Questions also persist over the lack of accountability on how the R220 million, which was earmarked to assist merging black farmers, was looted from the Agriculture Department through the Vrede Dairy Project.

Following the failed meeting, opposition parties appealed to the chairperson to ensure that the former MEC and HOD of the Department of Agriculture, Treasury, as well as Public Works are in attendance. They told the committee that it is extremely necessary that the office of the Auditor-General (AG) and Free State Heritage Council are also present.


OFM News/Katleho Morapela and Marvin Ntsane

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