Contractors who have been errant in their duties to work consistently have cost the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and Human Settlements a massive R4.6-billion. This was the basis of a press briefing held at the Archie Gumede Conference Centre this week where MEC Siboniso Duma lambasted those contractors who have been erring in their ways. Concerned by this diversion, Duma warned that strict action would be taken against 30 KZN-based contractors who have defaulted on their allocated road construction projects. Two of these contractors have already been suspended with impending suspensions for others looming.
Contractors may be over-flexing
Intense investigations have uncovered that a common occurrence was that “some companies lie about the scale of the contracts they are able to handle”. The Department’s findings revealed that many of them “have bitten off more than they can chew”. The department has a total of 944 active constructions and Duma warned that they are “going all out to ensure that every rand is stretched to its maximum potential.” Many of these 30 contractors being scrutinized have not completed the projects by a set deadline. Two contractors have abandoned projects altogether even though they had signed contracts to complete work.
Lying for tenders trails
The Construction Industry Development Board’s (CIDB) grading is an indicator of how big a contract a company is able to handle. Indications are that contractors lie about their grading when they tender, according to Duma.
“We currently have 30 contractors, from the CIDB grade 6 to grade 9, who are failing to complete capital projects across the province on time. Our expectation is that contractors at that level would have sufficient experience to handle big construction projects.”
Trail of lies recorded
The Department found that some companies which were awarded tenders had no record of being registered or had been previously suspended. Frustrated, Duma said the department plans to meet with the (CIDB) to discuss these problems because some contracting companies have blatantly lied about the scale of the projects they were able to handle. “When their status is being reviewed, it’s either they have no record of being registered, show lower grades or have been suspended by CIDB. We have discussed the delays with the group of 30 contracting companies and have found that they sometimes lack resources or don’t have a big enough cash flow. We will meet with the CIDB to discuss all these matters,” explained Duma.
Name and shame all non-performers
Duma has also warned that these wrongdoers will soon be exposed: “It is time that we, as a Department, name and shame these contractors as a deterrent to future contractors who will do business with us. This will be a demonstration of our firm commitment to ensure that taxpayers’ monies are not misused.”
Monitoring Tool to be implemented
With over four billion lost already, the Department is in the process of developing a tracking tool to monitor the rollout of all departmental projects, adding that contractors who fail to meet the revised timelines will be fired. “At this point in time, we have realized that these projects haven’t been completed in due time and some haven’t started off the ground.”
“To date, the cost of such delays is R4.6 billion and we are compromised as a country. There are so-called established contractors who take many projects at once and when they have a cash flow problem, it has an effect on every project they are working on. The tracking tool will monitor progress of all contractors and those who don’t meet strict deadlines will be fired,” concluded a determined Duma.
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