The Makana Local Municipality 'closes the chapter' on a saga that leaves questions about its officials' conduct.

Almost four years after a much-needed water pump was procured for the Howieson's Poort Dam in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, it was finally delivered to the municipality this month. Ratepayers in the Makana Local Municipality had to pay an additional R2.3-million for the pump to arrive, bringing the total amount paid for it to R4.6-million.

The pump was abandoned at the Benoni premises of the company that manufactured it because the contractor that had ordered it, Manco Business Enterprise, had a payment dispute with the municipality. It was originally meant to be financed through a water services grant from the Department of Water and Sanitation, but this was withdrawn because of the many delays in commissioning the project.

In 2022, the municipality had awarded the contract for the pump to Manco Business Enterprise, which subcontracted Donnlee Pump Tech to manufacture it, but did not pay its invoice in full. According to the municipality, Makana's former director of infrastructural services and engineering, Asanda Gidana, made a prepayment of R2.3-million on the pump without performing due diligence or having a finalised service-level agreement in place. She was fired for this.

In August 2023, a new agreement was made with Manco, according to a...