Africa-Press – Botswana. Government is constrained to interfere with the Modipane-Mabalane road project, following a temporary court interdict issued on January 9, Parliament heard Tuesday.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr Noah Salakae, said the construction of the project, which was implemented under the Development Manager model, was halted by the High Court of Botswana due to a dispute between the Development Manager and its sub-contractor.
Mr Salakae noted that the latter had since appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal.
He said while the dispute resolution process was ongoing, his ministry was concerned about public safety and acknowledged its duty as the client to ensure that services were provided to the community.
Consequently, he said following the temporary interdict, the ministry initiated engagements with the disputing parties to facilitate timeous resolution.
He said the most recent engagement was held on February 16, without prejudice, which formed part of the continuous dispute resolution measures.
However, the minister noted that they were still constrained by the terms of the temporary court interdict, which restrained any party from interfering with or altering the works on site until the dispute was finally determined.
He therefore said direct intervention on the site, beyond facilitating the dispute on the resolution process, was restricted.
He said owing to the concern about public safety emanating from the condition of the road, they continued to engage the disputing parties to reach an amicable settlement as expeditiously as possible.
He also indicated that he had visited the project site on numerous occasions prior to the interdict and intended to visit again as soon as it was permissible to assess the current status and condition of the road.
The minister was responding to parliamentary questions from Kgatleng East MP, Mr Mabuse Pule, who wanted to know when and how the minister planned to intervene as a matter of emergency, to protect public safety given the court interdict on the construction of the Modipane-Mabalane road, also noting that the current condition of the road posed serious and potentially fatal risk to road users.
Mr Pule also inquired about the interim measures the ministry would implement while legal disputes were being resolved, as well as specific timelines on the planned interventions.
Additionally, he had asked the minister when he intended to visit the project site to assess first-hand the severity of the road’s condition.
