Firm gets R1.3m tender despite not completing previous job

The city of Joburg has awarded a R1.3 million tender to a company that failed to complete a multimillion-rand library project that was also commissioned by the city. In February this year, Isibaya Maintenance and Supplies disappeared from Freedom Park, south of Joburg, where they had been building a R4.6m library since 2014. What they left was an incomplete structure, which is not made of bricks but rather material that looks like zinc. The structure looks more like a warehouse than a library and is empty inside, save for a few pillars holding it up. It doesn’t look like there are plans to put in windows. Despite this, the city awarded Isibaya another tender this year to install turnstiles at municipal swimming pools around the city at a cost of R1,3m. In 2014, the company was also awarded the project to upgrade the Avalon Cemetery fence.

Both Isibaya and the city have refused to say why the library has not been completed, but residents of Freedom Park said they want answers because millions were poured into the project. Construction is alleged to have started in 2014 under the now deceased councillor Mbuyiselo Dokolwane, who was shot and killed as he entered his home in February this year. According to Lucky Mohoase, who is the community liaison officer in Freedom Park, there had been problems with the project from the beginning. Mohoase said the company was taking time to build the library because it was busy with four other projects at the same time. While the budget for the library had been stated as R4.6m, Mohoase said he heard a rumour that it had actually been about R6m because of extra spending on a fence.

He said construction stopped in February. “When I asked what happened, I was told that the City of Joburg took Isibaya to court,” Mohoase said. He did not know what the reason for the dispute was and whether the city paid the company the full contract amount prior to the court dispute. He said the builders arrived at the library, took the containers that they had put there and said they were leaving. The current councillor, Mangaliso Ngwenya, said he wanted the Freedom Park and Naturena libraries to open simultaneously to prevent them being a hideout for criminals. He confirmed the Freedom Park library had not been completed. “It’s a shell. It looks like a hall without any windows. I am not a builder but I don’t think that structure cost R4.6m. I think the company were given the money before they could complete the job,” he said.

Lolo Tshabalala of Isibaya refused to say why her company abandoned the project, saying the report on the matter was with the council. “We have not abandoned the project. As soon as the stalemate is resolved we will finish it,” she said. City of Joburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane did not want to be drawn into speaking about what happened. He said the city’s department of community development had established that the delay was because there had been inadequate risk-mitigation measures. He said they were not in a position to go into details now because there were processes being put in place to deal with the project.