During a media briefing Thursday morning, MEC Bulwane said he wanted to dispel the myth, which he says is propagated by the EFF for cheap political points.

Also read: Free State department accused of upfront payments to respond.

The MEC says there was never an advance payment of R180 million to any contractors. He does, however, say an amount of R165 million was paid to contractors who have already completed and are continuing with the construction of the roads. Bulwane says on Tuesday he and officials will take the media around all the roads in question in the Free State.

Also read: Free State Department accused of making shady payments

“If you check all five jobs - regarding the R165 million that we have already paid, including the site establishment money - it's far less than the actual work to conclude this project at a total of R806 million. Only R165 million was paid. It’s not true that there is money paid in advance, government can’t pay money in advance. I’ve never seen that in a number of spheres of government, I've never seen that. So, we want to dispel that notion here. I'm not going to lower myself running after the EFF because I know to them it's cheap mileage that they want. I don’t have time to waste. I will not be taking the EFF to court following these allegations against this department. Once I’ve clarified this matter with you, I am done with this one and I want to go and do my work. I'm not going to take the EFF to the court, saying they defamed us, talked bad about the department... it’s their job,” Bulwane says.

Bulwane’s media statement came amidst threats by the EFF’s Provincial Secretary, Malefane Msimanga, to open a case of corruption against the department.

Also read: EFF threatens with case against Free State department

Bulwane has further warned opposition parties that they should use the right platform to air their views or allegations. “To the members of the opposition, we should remind you that you know the platforms that are at your disposal to interact and hold the department accountable for any expenditure. Use those platforms effectively to get facts and understanding instead of propagating wrong impressions about the department,” Bulwane adds.

OFM News