STELLALANDER-VRYBURG: Just over a month after the DA in North West lodged a case with the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and requested President Cyril Ramaphosa to fast-track a proclamation for an investigation into Ratlou Local Municipality’s incomplete and shoddy projects, the consequences are starting to show, says Freddy Sonakile - DA Spokesperson on Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional affairs in the North West Provincial Legislature.
The project, paving the road from Garelang to Ramabesa, was completed in December 2023, but washed away after heavy rains last week. The former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Ratlou, Tumelo Letlojane, flagged this project and refused to pay for it due to the shoddy work. However, Lotlojane was later fired by the municipality. The R20 million project is one of many similar projects in Ratlou. According to Sonakile, the project was initially intended for the road between Setlhwatlhwe and Ramabes, but was later changed to Garelang without any Council resolution. “We will continue to pursue the President as well as the SIU to act with speed in Ratlou before there is nothing left in this already collapsed municipality,” says Sonakile. The DA will add further pressure by requesting Acting Premier, Nono Maloyi, to invoke Section 106 of the Municipal Systems Act, by lodging an investigation into all the incomplete and shoddy projects in Ratlou, Sonakile added.
