‘Contractors need to be mentored’

The eThekwini Municipality has been accused of setting up emerging contractors for failure by not having mentors to guide and monitor them to ensure work was properly done. The claim by the DA was made after revelations by the city engineer’s department that Pinetown contractor Shikani Trading had abandoned a R2.3 million project in Folweni, south of Durban. Officials now want the company blacklisted, claiming it was not the first time it had failed to complete projects. The company was awarded the contract in December 2011 to upgrade the township’s Ndlomane Crescent by resurfacing a gravel road. The project included earthworks and installing kerbs and pavements, as well as pedestrian and vehicular accesses and stormwater reticulation. The work was supposed to have been completed within 18 weeks, but the company gave notice last October – five months after the project deadline – that it was withdrawing from the contract.

City engineers said in a report before exco last Tuesday that the contractor had left the site in an unsafe condition, with incomplete manholes and unfinished “bulk earthworks”. This had caused access problems for pedestrians and property owners. The recent heavy rains had made things worse, the report said, as they had left the incomplete road extensively damaged and the stormwater system blocked. City manager Sbu Sithole described the progress of the work as unsatisfactory. At the point that the contractor withdrew, the city had already paid the company R684 148.54.

The owner of the company, Mthulisi Mthembu, attributed the lack of progress to delays in payments from the city, which he said had been brought to the attention of the city’s roads department. Mthembu said he had four projects with the city and payments for all were delayed. “I just could not work like that and that is why I decided to withdraw. They know the reason why I withdrew. I could not continue working from my own pocket,” he said. Sithole said the city was considering its options on how best it could recover the costs from the contractor. “If we pursue the legal route, it would mean the city would be incurring more legal costs than the money it is trying to get back,” he said. DA councillor Ronnie Veeran said with the contractor withdrawing, it meant the city had to budget twice for the same project. “We are losing money and we want to know what action will be taken against the contractor,” he said.

His colleague Tex Collins said the city had to find a way to ensure contractors completed their jobs. “They need to be mentored and monitored, even if it means that we have one of our skilled people go to the sites and ensure that they do things right,” he said. Collins said the city was setting emerging contractors up for failure if it did not have experienced people working with them to ensure the job got done. Deputy mayor Nomvuzo Shabalala pointed out that the same company had allegedly abandoned the construction of a bridge in Umlazi’s L-section. “That was completed only after four years (and it was) the same company,” she said. “We need to look at how much we are losing because of this company and establish why they keep getting city contracts.” Sithole said the company should be referred to the city’s blacklisting committee, a suggestion accepted by all.