Question NW531 to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture

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02 September 2019 - NW531

Profile picture: Abrahams, Ms ALA

Abrahams, Ms ALA to ask the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture

1. (a) Why is there a delay in processing the capital transfer payment for the Iziko Museum’s infrastructure project and (b) why is the capital processed on a recovery basis by the Department of Public Works 2. Whether the project was initially allocated to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure ; if not, (a) to whom was it allocated initially, (b) what is the status of the project and (c) on what date did it commence 3. (a) what amount (i) was allocated for the project and (ii) has already been spent in this regard and (b) why is there a delay and /or lack of progress on the project; 4. Has there been any occurrence of fruitless and wasteful expenditure in this project; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

1.(a). The payment on the court yard project was delayed due to delayed submission of reports from Department of Public Works.

(b). the recovery basis is purely to claim for work done and this has been the practiced by DPW for many years. DAC does not transfer funds to DPW in advance.

(2)(a). the project has from the onset been allocated to DPW.

(b). the project is on construction stage.

(c). the project contract commencement date was the 29th June 2012 and site hand over date was 14 January 2013

3.(a)(i). R 296 000 000 has been budgeted for this project

(ii). R 252 384 531

(b). The delays were due to:

  • During procurement stage, the site hand over was delayed because the Department of Public Works could not find a suitable off-site storage to relocate all collections from the museum therefore the site was never handed over totally to the contractor. The site hand over was therefore delayed by over a year.
  • It was then agreed that the museum collections and staff will be moved from floor to floor after completion of the works on those floors.
  • Most of the stored collection were stored in alcohol and other flammable liquids in big tanks that took a year to store in the basement. It has not been easy to work on the project that is occupied.
  • During construction, the only compliant appointed specialized subcontractor responsible for the installation of compactus storage facility went under liquidation. The liquidation process and the procurement of the new subcontractor took long to complete.

4. Occurrence of fruitless and wasteful expenditure has not been recorded or reported.

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