Border wall project: call for transparency

Durban — KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube must be more transparent on the R85 million new Jersey Barrier Wall project at the South African/Mozambican border, the IFP said.

The call came after Dube-Ncube recently held an in loco oversight visit to assess progress on the construction of the Jersey walls at Manguzi in the Umkhanyakude District Municipality.

The Jersey barrier wall project spans about 25km of the vulnerable borderline and was initiated by the KZN government in 2018 as part of a basket of interventions to fight crime in this area, the Office of the Premier said.

The project, mainly to prevent easy egress for stolen vehicles and livestock, is being implemented in three phases.

The concrete wall will run a stretch of 8km starting from the boundary of iSimangaliso Wetlands Park and moving to the western boundary of Tembe Elephant Park.

Dube-Ncube noted “good progress” in the construction of the phase that cuts through Gate 6, one of the hotspot segments of the borderline. The Department of Transport has been directed to fast-track the raising of the walls, she said. Each modified Jersey barrier structure is 2.2m high with 700mm below ground and 1.5m protruding from the surface and the width is 1.5m for stability purposes.

“The provincial government is working with partners to break the back of criminal syndicates that terrorise communities along the borderline. The interventions are already yielding positive results as several high-profile criminals have been arrested. Already several cars have been found abandoned, some hanging on the Jersey barriers because syndicates could not take them across to Mozambique because of the high border walls,” Dube-Ncube said.

IFP leader in the KZN Legislature MPL Blessed Gwala said the party was still awaiting the outcome of a 2021 Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation into the project after many red flags were raised about irregularities and incomplete work. Gwala said the project was awarded to a joint venture between ISF Construction and Shula Construction in August 2018 and has seen little progress on site.

“The Premier has kept the public in the dark, therefore the IFP calls on her to make the findings of the SIU probe public and that strong action be taken against those involved. She together with the KZN MEC for Transport, Sipho Hlomuka, must provide clarity on this project, which has been clouded in secrecy,” Gwala said.

“This project is yet another failure with an investigative report attached, which the premier can add to her track record and a reputation for hiding forensic investigation reports,” he said.

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