MEC Siboniso Duma reveals troubling delays in contractor payments for KZN's road projects

The delays in the payment of contractors constructing and rehabilitating road infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal were a concern.

The matter was highlighted by MEC of Transport Siboniso Duma during his budget hearing presentation and Annual Performance Plan (APP) at the KZN Legislature Transport Portfolio Committee, on Tuesday.

Following the re-tabling of the national Budget by the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, provincial departments were also required to re-table their budgets.

Riona Gokool, MPL and DA spokesperson on transport, was concerned about allegations that contractors are not being paid for services rendered.

This despite the department’s significantly increased 2025/26 budget of over R13 billion: a 6.2% increase compared to the adjusted 2024/25 appropriation.

Gokool called for:

A full disclosure regarding the total value of 2024/25 unpaid invoices and clarity on how the department plans to settle these in 2025/26. A full breakdown of all unpaid contractors from the 2024/25 financial year and the reasons. A timeline of when affected contractors can expect payments.

Immediate steps within the DoT to ensure transparent and timely processing of contractor payments going forward. Ringfencing or conditional release of infrastructure and maintenance grant funds until the DoT provides a clear debt settlement plan and payment timeline.

Clarity on whether non-payments will impact service delivery and infrastructure rollouts during the current year. The department’s infrastructure programme has been allocated a substantial R9.2 billion, with R4.3 billion earmarked for maintenance and R3.8 billion for construction.

Gokool said this highlights a mismatch between budget allocation and actual service delivery, particularly if contractors are not being paid or projects are not progressing as intended.

According to Gokool, the APP and budget reports make repeated references to prior-year unpaid invoices, specifically noting a spike in expenditure during Quarter one of the 2024/25, which was attributed to late payments from the previous year.

She said the department's over-expenditure in that period - R404 million instead of the projected R213 million - raises red flags regarding financial planning and invoice processing systems.

She added that the DoT’s 2025/26 budget makes no clear provision or explanation for settling these outstanding contractor payments, and the progress on disbursing 2024/25 invoices remains unclear.

“The ripple effect of non-payments not only affects businesses - it affects workers, their families and local economies - this despite a massive budget supposedly available,” she said.

Duma stated that his department continues to prioritise the payment of contractors and that he requested a detailed report from his department heads of delays in payments for the contractors.

He also called to prioritise contractors and service providers in rural areas where there is poverty.

Duma said that DoT has made great progress in terms of the rollout of road infrastructure projects throughout the corners of the province.

“We have created job opportunities for thousands of people in deep rural areas. We have targeted young people who are worst affected by unemployment. The issue of floods and prolonged rainfall are natural disasters that are affecting our performance,” he said.

Duma said that there would be penalties and punitive actions against contractors who squander money and abandon sites without finishing projects. He warned that contractors would be blacklisted and they will be taken to court to recover money.