Central SA
Calls for prosecution, blacklisting of incompetent contractors─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 08:41 Fri, 09 Jun 2023
The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Sihle Zikalala, has vowed to deal with incompetent contractors after visiting abandoned government projects in Parys and Bloemfontein during an oversight visit.
He warned construction companies and developers who fleece the government and abandon construction sites after doing shoddy workmanship on public infrastructure projects that they face blacklisting and being barred from doing business with the government.
The unfinished facility of the DCS in Parys. PHOTO: Supplied
Zikalala visited the unfinished R232 million facility of the Department of Correctional Services in Parys as well as the Park Road police station in Bloemfontein.
The two facilities are incomplete and have missed their completion date by over four years due to a growing tendency where construction companies will claim liquidation and incapacity to continue after claiming portions of the project funds.
The unfinished facility of the DCS in Parys. PHOTO: Supplied
The work then gets ceded to a new company, which leads to cost escalations and eventually ballooning costs and delays in the delivery of key infrastructure.
‘We will have to enforce consequence management’
Minister Zikalala was accompanied by the MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure in the Free State, Dibolelo Mance and Community Safety Roads and Transport MEC Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae.
After his visit to the correctional facility in Parys, which has now become a white elephant, Zikalala promised to take action against contractors who continue to abandon government projects the government has paid for.
The unfinished facility of the DCS in Parys. PHOTO: Supplied
"Whoever was the owner of the company, we have terminated the contract. We are going to deal with that by ensuring that penalties are enforced and the contract guarantees are recouped back to the department. We are going to ensure that all projects are completed, regardless of who is involved or who is the contractor. If a contractor is failing, we will have to enforce consequence management," he said.
ALSO READ: Parly to probe stalled upgrades at Park Road Police Station
In 2022, issues were raised regarding the stalled R48 million construction project at Park Road police station, of which construction started in 2017. The DA's spokesperson on security and justice in the National Council of Provinces, George Michalakis, then stated that they have submitted questions to the then Public Works Minister, Patricia de Lille, demanding answers as to when the project will finally be completed and what efforts are underway to recoup the alleged funds lost.
