Premier Mabuza gives ultimatum to contractors to complete building RDP houses by March
27 January 2013
Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza on Friday [25 January 2013] gave an ultimatum to the service providers contracted to the Department of Human Settlements to build RDP houses that they should have completed and left sites by 15 March 2013.
The Premier is dissatisfied with the slow pace of the contractors in completing the houses and is also concerned that they are contributing towards the delay in giving people government houses.
At a meeting with the contractors at the Government Complex in Nelspruit, the Premier asked them if they would deliver the houses before the end of the financial year. To his surprise many contractors preferred to terminate contracts and be assisted otherwise as they conceded that they might not reach the deadline.
He asked those who claimed that they would honour their contracts to sign commitment forms but also state the challenges they were currently faced with in delivering the projects.
“It looks like some of you are here to play, this is serious business, people’s lives depend on these government houses, and they expect their houses from us, therefore it cannot be you who deny them their houses. I am aware that it is not only your problems which delay the delivery of these houses, even the department is involved.
“Many of you have not even started building the houses, and I am extremely under pressure from the people, I am expected explain during the State of the Province Address as to how many houses did we manage to deliver from what we committed ourselves.
“Your problems should not tamper with the deadline because we gave you jobs in order for you to help us deliver the houses. Come rain, come sunshine, whether it is at night or during the day, whether you are emerging or a successful contractor, I want those houses and you should be out of site by March 15,” said Mabuza.
He explained that many service providers did not invest on their businesses but misused their money on expensive vehicles instead of purchasing working tools.
The Premier said he was intervening because of a “slow pace” by the contractors regardless of the meetings between them and Human Settlements MEC Siphosezwe Masango, Acting Head of Department Mr Sarel Mtsweni and the provincial government’s Director-General Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize.
“By right I should not be meeting with you, but I can sense that we have a serious problem. I am even prepared to push government to pay, but service providers must work and deliver quality services.
“I want honest and hard-working people with a vision to take the province’s economy forward and grow our economy. You cannot be emerging business people forever, one day you must grow and run big corporate construction companies,” said Mabuza.
Speaking at the same meeting, contractors told the Premier that they received appointment letters very late and some had not yet been taken to sites. Others complained that the department had not paid their claims and it was difficult to speedily deliver the houses.
Some contractors complained to the Premier that they had not been given the beneficiaries of the government houses as required, and were asked to find them themselves.
Others also complained that they had been given incomplete specifications by the department which also contributed in the delay in delivering the houses.
The Premier ordered the Director-General to speedily process outstanding payments for those owed by government. He also tasked the departments to use community structures to identify the beneficiaries, and the lists should be given to the contractors this week.
“I have a problem about staying with people’s money, when people have completed their work, they must be paid within 31 days. I really do not understand why the department cannot provide the contractors with the lists of the beneficiaries, we have councillors and community development workers on the ground who know the deserving people very well,” said Mabuza.
The Premier has decided to visit the housing projects in the province.
Issued by Zibonele Mncwango
Spokesperson: Mpumalanga Premier
Tel: (013) 766 – 2453
Mobile: 079 491 0163
E-mail: zmncwango@mpg.gov.za