Residents of any city should celebrate when informed that national government intended giving it a R200m shot in the arm for a project that would boost tourism, enhance the local economy and provide entertainment for local families.
That money is reportedly to go towards the Buffalo City Metropolitan Development Agency’s (BCMDA) Water World Fun Park project.
But any excitement any resident may feel will be sorely tempered by the fact that the project is a complete ruin despite the R125m pumped into it to date.
In fact, the news that another R200m will be given to the same metro agency that so badly mismanaged the project seems like an April Fool’s joke.
The BCMDA is wholly owned by the Buffalo City Metro. The agency is supposed to carry out projects on BCM’s behalf.
But, as it turns out, neither entity seems to have any project management skills whatsoever.
All they do is create more work for the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
The SIU’s to-do list currently includes several metro projects such as the Leighandre “Baby Lee” Jegels Recreational Park, popularly known as The Stoep, the recently renovated Marina Glen, the disastrous Mdantsane pool upgrade project, and, of course, the Water World Fun Park.
And yet, while that investigation is pending, government suggests it is willing to invest more.
The entire project looks considerably worse than before the ‘upgrades’ started
The Mdantsane pool project reportedly cost more than R70m, with nothing to show for it but a vandalised mess. The entire project looks considerably worse than before the ‘upgrades’ started.
And the R125m spent on the Water World Fun Park has delivered nothing but disputes with incapable contractors, vandalised infrastructure, cracked cement pools, collapsed slides and the inevitable conclusion that everything must be scrapped and the project started from scratch.
And no-one accounts for anything.
Oversight is poor, repercussions non-existent. The term consequence management is a contradiction in terms. There is no management and zero consequence.
And so, residents, oversight bodies, and opposition parties look at the possibility of another injection of R200m into the Water World project, not as an investment in the city, but rather as another opportunity for plunder, malfeasance and maladministration. The same people are still in charge so what will change?
It brings to mind the old adage that “the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result”.
It is insane to invest another R200m into Water World unless national government appoints a capable entity to administer it.
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