Kennedy Road housing contract extension requested

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29-07-2022
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IOL
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Durban — Clare Estate residents are concerned about the sprawling informal settlements and the stagnated Kennedy Road housing project.

The eThekwini Human Settlements and Infrastructure committee requested the professional Civil Engineering Services for the low-cost housing project at Kennedy Road and approval of related additional contracts to be extended in a meeting on Tuesday. The report before the eThekwini Executive Committee (Exco) was noted but is waiting for approval at the full council meeting on Thursday.

The Bid Adjudication Committee in July 2019 approved the award of a contract worth R1.6 million for a professional team to undertake detailed planning of the Kennedy Road Housing project. The contract duration was 36 months, with a practical completion date of September 10 this year.

The report said, since the award of the contract, there have been delays encountered due to various reasons, including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the July 2021 civil unrest and the April this year flood damages.

The report said that consequently, a need exists to extend the contract for a further period of 18 months, and the approval of an additional contract authority in the amount of R3.8 million has been informed by the escalation costs, the redesign costs and the costs relating to the hand over of the services to the line departments.

The report stated that after six months into the contract, the country was locked down to level 5 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and no construction was permitted for a period of four months. The report added that social issues, with objections and protests concerning the allocation and ownership of the project from the ratepayers and people from the informal settlements of Ward 23 and Ward 25, delayed the implementation of the project. In June 2021, the Kennedy Road and Springfield precinct was heavily affected by the social unrest, which also added to the delays of the project, the report read.

In motivating the contract extension, the report stated that the existing service provider had the historical knowledge and design of the project, and extending the appointment would ensure continuity in the project.

The city plans to build 45 sites in Dodoma Avenue (Ward 25), 198 sites in Barton Place (Ward 23) and 225 sites were proposed to be upgraded within the existing Kennedy Road informal settlement.

Clare Estate Ratepayers Association spokesperson Navin Dookran said the city needed to first move the illegal invaders out of those houses.

“What happens to the money if the increase is approved, but the invaders refuse to move out for further development? There must be public participation and a time period,” said Dookran.

“When objections were raised, one of the points highlighted in the objection was the unstable ground and the need for a proper neutral geo-technicians report. Today that property is a risk to the project due to the unstable ground. What guarantees that the increased amount requested will resolve the problem,” said Dookran.

Ratepayers were concerned that the infrastructure for electricity, water and sewerage could not sustain this new project which would eventually affect them. Ratepayers also called for the rehabilitation of Dodoma Avenue and Kennedy Road to be able to sustain the extra traffic and population.