Question NW1850 to the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation
26 November 2020 - NW1850
Komane, Ms RN to ask the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation
Whether her department has achieved the objective to which it committed in 2018, namely to complete the eradication of bucket toilets in the Free State; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has not been able to complete the Bucket Eradication Programme in the Free State Province for reasons beyond the control of the department. It is for this reason that I have appointed the Housing Development Agency (HDA) to assist with the backlog.
I have been informed that the backlog can be attributed to the procurement of materials on national tender and Works Quotations (WQ’s) below R500 000,00. In some cases, Works Quotations are rendered unsuccessful as bids received are non-responsive due to:
- Prices for required materials being very expensive; or
- Bids not being received on some tenders at all or an insufficient number of bids being received for competitive evaluation and award
In addition, cash flow and delivery (transport) challenges experienced by successful bidders delayed delivery of material to sites prior and during the lockdown period. However, this has since normalised and some materials have been received.
It should also be noted that Supply Chain Management processes are not geared towards the procurement of materials on short notice as all tenders needs to follow Section 217 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.