R3m Mpumalanga land deal 'improper'

r3m mpumalanga land deal 'improper'

mpumalanga's public works department and mbombela municipal officials yesterday remained tight-lipped about the r3m purchase of unusable land earmarked for a village for members of the legislature .

the provincial government bought the land only to discover it was unsuitable for residential development because part of it was below the 50-year floodline .

mpumulanga's new legislature has been mired in corruption, with several allegations of tender irregularities emerging since construction began.

provincial auditor-general douglas maphiri raised reservations about the deal, saying the land was r784000 overpriced.

two weeks ago mpumalanga public works mec candith mashego-dlamini told the provincial government's public works portfolio committee that the land earmarked for the village had been bought improperly.

mashego-dlamini said the department was negotiating with the seller to repurchase the land. if this was unsuccessful, the department would take the matter to court.

"the problem is that the contract is binding and the province cannot just walk away. the province is facing serious problems of unprocedural and corrupt tenders," she said in a progress report to the committee.

yesterday, department spokeswoman ina georgala would not give details of the seller , except to say that it was a holding company. she said the department could not issue a statement on the issue yesterday "because the people who can respond to the matter are not available ".

spokeswoman for the mbombela municipality delia oosthuizen did not return phone calls yesterday . she had earlier promised to issue a statement on the matter . the 14000 m² stand is in the mbombela municipality.

two years ago, the mpumalanga provincial legislature asked national government for funds to build a "parliamentary village" for its members at an estimated cost of r53m.