Never-ending partly village build 'a cash cow'

Civic activists have called on authorities to investigate why the Mpumalanga government has not finished the construction of the province's parliamentary village.

- Masoka Dube

The project, begun in 2014 and should have been completed in 2017, was originally budgeted to cost R300 million, but has now sucked up more than R500 million.

Mpumalanga provincial spokesperson George Mthethwa said the government was "striving to finish the project as soon as we can."

"A lot of work has been done."

But he added, that "one of the major factors of delays is interruption of projects by communities demanding employment and the construction mafias, who demand 30% from contractors."

"These challenges put the lives of workers at risk, thereby obstructing the finalisation. In some instances, delays are caused by natural causes, such as rain."