Concerns were raised at an eThekwini council meeting on Tuesday over the amendment of a contract to improve the Isipingo Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW), which increased from R60 million to a proposed R206 million. 

The municipality will amend the contract for the provision of professional consulting services for the design and construction monitoring of improvements to the Isipingo WWTW.  

It explained that the Isipingo WWTW has a design capacity of 18 M/d and collects its raw sewage from domestic communities in its catchment (including Isipingo and Umlazi) and discharges treated effluent into the Isipingo River.

The municipal report stated that the contract was awarded through the Supply Chain Management processes on September 23, 2022. However, the handover of the project was done at the kick-off meeting held on October 28, 2022, which was recorded as the start date. 

The municipal report stated that the initial contract had a duration of 36 months, with a planned completion date of October 28, 2025. 

However, the changes to the scope of work and the additional work resulted in delays in the completion of the detailed design and procurement documents, with the completion date set at June 1, 2028.

According to the municipality, the factors leading to the increased costs are:

• The contract for which the major amendment is being requested is the professional services contract for which the basis of the fees is a percentage of the construction contract aligned to the fee guidelines of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).
• The original fee was based on the original construction cost estimated at R60 million, which was determined when the professional services contract was being scoped and costed.

Due to changes in scope arising from the outcomes of the studies and investigations outlined in the report, the original cost estimate has since increased from R60 million to R206 million.

The report stated that the increase in construction costs is significant. There have been no functional improvements to the works in the last 20 years, and the scope changes are deemed critical to ensure best engineering practices, compliance with the current licensing requirements from the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, as well as Green Drop compliance.

“During the discussions, it was noted that these delays are causing growing frustration within the community, particularly given that the service in question was deemed critical at the time the project was initiated,” the report stated. 

According to the municipality, the eThekwini Sanitation Services teams are overseeing this work, and where necessary, the services of the Internal Audit Directorate will be utilised to conduct an audit of these operations to ensure that implementation is proceeding according to plan and that measurable progress is being made on the ground.

Yogis Govender, DA caucus chief whip, said that the new amount was astronomical and there have been no penalties or consequence management for the contractor or municipal officials.

“This is a huge slice of taxpayers’ money that has been taken. This approach has created a new norm in eThekwini. We need to collate all contract extensions and conduct a forensic investigation,” she said. 

Nkosenhle Madlala, ANC councillor, said the matter was discussed thoroughly in the committee.

“There is no contractor on site. The councillors are welcome to do oversight. We want to build back better; the designs need to take into consideration unusual weather patterns where our treatment plants must take on new designs. We raised the concern about time, but we understand the intricacy of the work that needs to be done,” Madlala said. 

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za

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