A recent report by the Auditor-General (AG) clearly indicates that the Free State ANC government is not only failing to take action against poorly performing contractors, but is also protecting them.
The lack of effective action against non-performing contractors was one of the findings in the AG’s 2023/24 audit reports for the Free State which served before the legislature’s public accounts committee (Propac).
Even though the National Treasury (NT) issued regulations requiring that poorly performing contractors be reported to prevent government from doing business with them again in the future, the Free State is slow to act and protects them instead of holding them accountable.
The Free State is riddled with incomplete infrastructure projects delayed by incompetent contractors.
For example, the Mantsopa Hospital in Ladybrand which was completed in 2019 already is still not fully operational and has since been vandalised.
Repairs to the Tweespruit/Excelsior Road were delayed for four months due to a dispute between the contractor and the Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport.
Meanwhile, the Department suffered a loss of more than R74 million due to underspending R105 million of its road repairs grant. As a result of the underspending, funds earmarked for infrastructure were forfeited to other provinces.
The AG, furthermore, indicated that certain departments are spending their entire budget but are still failing to achieve their annual targets.
This points to the squandering of fiscal resources while failing to improve service delivery and Free Staters’ quality of life. Funds are spent, but there is no value for money.
At the core of these infrastructure failures lies the ANC’s obsession with its worn-out policies, such as Affirmative Action and Black Economic Empowerment, which serve as a smokescreen for lining the pockets of a mere handful of cadres.
In the Free State, contract cadres enjoy protection while services and infrastructure decay.
