The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is targetting a company that vanished before it did any work after it was paid R10-million.
Sunday World understands that the department has initiated a legal process to
recover the funds paid to Themane Construction as one of the subcontractors in
a R56-million construction project.
Public Works MEC Martin Meyer officially opened the project this week, which
includes, among other things, 32 offices, two large boardrooms, and four kitchens. It
had stalled because the main contractor abandoned work, citing threats from the so-
called construction mafia.
Another contractor completed it.
Contractor was advanced almost R10m
Meyer recently announced that the department had unblocked construction projects
to the value of R300-million after various interventions, including physical site
visits.
According to the department, “unblocked” refers to the resumption of construction of projects previously stopped for various reasons, including non-payment, protest strikes or threats.
Public Works regional director Simphiwe Blose confirmed to Sunday World that,
the subcontractor that vanished had been advanced just more than R9.5-million.
Company accused of dishonesty
“Although we do want to assist small contractors, especially with money to cover
primary costs, it is always disheartening when they decide to be dishonest. One of
the subcontractors was paid by the department, but no work was done,” said Blose.
Meyer struggled to explain what had been done to recover the money, citing that it had
now become a legal matter.
Won’t be lenient when public funds are misused
“We have taken a decision that we won’t be lenient on contractors who misuse public
funds by not doing what they are supposed to do,” he said.
Meyer said the department would blacklist companies that abandon projects after
getting paid.
He said recouping money from contractors was often a difficult legal process.
“But we have learnt our lessons,” Meyer said.
Corruption is suspected
In 2022, a meeting of the parliamentary portfolio committee on human settlements
flagged KwaZulu-Natal as one of the provinces highly impacted by blocked projects.
The meeting heard that the cause often was corruption, a lack of capacity of the
contractors and the construction mafia.
It has become a common occurrence for construction companies to embezzle
money from the government and then claim liquidation and incapacity. Another
contractor then takes over the work, causing the project costs to skyrocket.
Pre-payment was made for flimsy reasons
A senior staffer at the department, who lacked the authority to speak to the
media, revealed to Sunday World that the department advanced payment to
the contractor, giving a tenuous justification despite the contractor’s lack of work.
“The department never conducted any due diligence. It was tantamount to fraud and
corruption because the contractor took the money and fled,” said the person.
“It was bizarre, and the whole thing was rushed. The company itself had no offices.
We were unsurprised to discover that he [the owner] had not entered the site and remained untraceable,” he said.
But government insiders said they believed that the money went to a fictitious company
whose owners were untraceable.
Sunday World’s week-long effort to track down those listed as directors of Themane
Construction and solicit comment from them drew a blank.
