Question NW3400 to the Minister of Public Works:
26 October 2015 - NW3400
Madisha, Mr WM to ask the Minister of Public Works:
Whether the Government has launched any investigation into new buildings contracted for the state which on the date of delivery showed such serious structural defects that it made the brand new building unsafe to occupy as was evident at Scottsdene Secondary School in Cape Town; if not, why not; if so, what was the reason for such building(s) proceeding to completion without proper engineering checks at every stage to ensure that construction met the standard requirements?
Reply:
The Minister of Public Works
As per the earlier undertaking to provide a reply to this question to the Honourable Member the response is as follows:
The Department of Public Works has not launched an investigation to date, as the Department has not received reports of its buildings having structural defects such as the one the Honourable Member is alluding to.
Within the current system of managing infrastructure projects, there is a process to address latent defects (defects that happen or are detected after the practical handover of projects / buildings) which goes as such:
- When a project is practically completed and declared fit for the intended use, the Practical Completion Certificate is issued by the Principal Agent.
- From the practical completion date an allowance of 3 to 12 months is made for the unforeseen defects to be reported and corrected. The defects have to be corrected by the Contractor who was responsible for the project within a reasonable time after an instruction has been issued by the Principal Agent. This is done by way of retainer provisions within the contract between the Department and the contractor. Once these defects have been corrected the final account can be signed off, paving a way for a well completed project, free of defects.
The school referred in the question is a project that was implemented by the Western Cape Provincial Department of Transport and Public Works.
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