Subcontractor claims he is owed millions

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06-05-2022
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Lowvelder
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MBOMBELA - The subcontractors involved with the construction of the now famous “white elephant of Mpumalanga”, the International Fresh Produce Market (IFPM), said they are frustrated by not being paid for the services they deliver.

Gary Coetzee, the owner of Mandlakazi Electrical, is but one of several contractors who are complaining of non-payment from the main contractor, Enza Constrution.

According to Coetzee, he is currently owed at least R20m, of which R14m was supposed to have been paid out in January.

“Our main concern now is that due to the lack of funding, we cannot pay our BEE subcontractors,” he said.

Mandlakazi was appointed in 2020 for around R70m to construct the project's substations, mini-substations and generator network on the multi-billion-rand contract.

At the time, Mandlakazi also appointed three BEE electrical contractors in support of the government’s small, medium and micro enterprises guidelines.

“They are very competent contractors, but during the time we also assisted them financially due to them not having enough cash flow,” said Coetzee.

“With Enza dragging its feet to pay us, we now can’t pay these small contractors.”

According to Coetzee, Enza claimed it has not been paid by the Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport (DPWRT) since January.

The department, however, denies this. “The main contractor was last paid (up to date) on April 13, 2022,” said Bongani Dhlamini, the spokesperson for DPWRT.

Besides the problem of not being able to pay contractors, Coetzee said Mandlakazi cannot complete the electrification project as they cannot pay its suppliers.

“Cables worth R14m are lying in the stores of our supplier who can’t deliver until it has been paid.”

The construction of the IFPM was announced in 2012 by the former premier of the province, David Mabuza. In

2013 he said the market would cost an estimated R1.2b and the project would be managed by the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA), and would be completed in five years.

In 2015, MEGA said it needed R2b more to complete the project.

From the start the project was marred with problems, such as strikes, nonpayment of contractors, upgrading and construction of the R32, and the main contractor, Liviero Civils, going bankrupt.

Asked if any steps were ever taken against Liviero, Dhlamini said, “The DPWRT only became involved with the project from December 1, 2020, so anything that took place prior to the date stated needs to be referred to MEGA.”

MEGA did respond to the questions sent to it.

Dhlamini said to date, R872m was spent on the project.

“One of the aspects hampering the completion of the project currently is that the department is awaiting variation orders approvals from the provincial treasury, specifically on escalations of cost.”

The new projected completion date for the IFPM is set for October 11, 2022.

Questions sent to Enza for clarification was not answered by the time of going to press.

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