Third Special Report

Third special report on the financial management of government’s covid-19 initiatives 54 Municipalities shouldmonitor whether the number of toilets and showers/baths provided are sufficient for the number of occupants, in accordance with SANS 10400 regulations, which govern the design, planning and supervision of all construction work. Proper disaster management plans should be in place to allowmunicipalities to conform to proper safety standards in the event of an emergency. Poor-quality workmanship on installation of water tanks to supply emergency water to communities Project management focuses on processes crucial to achieving the project objective, which in the context of this audit was ensuring the communities have access to water through the provision of appropriate water tank installation and water supply. We conducted inspections of various installation sites to establish the existence and assess the quality and progress of the infrastructure, and to determine whether the community used these sites. It was evident that the management of the projects’ keymilestones and contractual arrangement was not effective to ensure that the projects were completed within the allocated timeframes and that the work was of the required quality, free fromdefects and fit for purpose. This was due to inadequate planning, oversight, progressmonitoring, corrective actions and regular reporting by the relevant officials. There were signs of defect on thematerial used to construct and install stands and structures for the water tanks. Of the 36 projects audited with steel installations, 19 (53%) showed evidence that the steel structures had signs of defect. In addition, nine projects showed evidence of concrete slabbing cracking or concrete that was not embedded in the ground. Below are examples of poor-quality workmanship we identified during the audit. Ngaka Modiri Molema District We identified a steel structure constructed to support two 10 000-litre water tanks that was not of the appropriate quality. The water tanks, which weigh up to 20 tonnes when filled, have visibly bent the steel structure. At another installation, we noted the cross braces used to construct the steel structure were damaged and loose, while the structure was inappropriately sized, which resulted in the water tank hanging over the edge of the structure. These observations indicate that the integrity of the structures is compromised and poses a risk of the structures collapsing or the water tank falling off the structure. In addition, themunicipality had receivedwater tanks from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and had also purchased its own water tanks. Themunicipality did not provide us with supporting documentation with specifications for the installation of its 80 water tanks. Furthermore, the distribution list of water tanks provided to us did not distinguish between the water tanks obtained from the DWS and the water tanks procured by themunicipality. Bases of water tank stands were bent due to weight of water tanks when filled