The Eastern Cape’s permanent delegates to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) were informed that four infrastructure projects had been stalled by litigation lasting more than two years.
The projects are the Cala Wastewater Treatment Plant, Tsomo Wastewater Sewer, Xhonxa Pump Station, and Hewu Phases 10 and 11. Contractors have abandoned all four projects as a result.
The delegation leader, Honourable Nkosi Mwelo Nonkonyana, said the Chris Hani District Municipality needed to follow up on the cases, warning that lawyers tended to seek unnecessary postponements when government was their client. “We need to guard against this practice because lawyers representing government just get to court and ask for a postponement. This results in a lot of money being paid to them without resolution, and sometimes they lose. Money that should be used to service the people gets spent elsewhere,” he said.
He said that once lawyers had been briefed, officials should not have to concern themselves with court dates, as the lawyers would have all the necessary information.
Another delegation member, Ms Asanda Matyhobeni, said contractor disputes and delays in completing projects were often caused by inadequate monitoring and evaluation. “The absence of monitoring and evaluation is a general challenge in the Eastern Cape. Otherwise, these problems with infrastructure projects should not be happening or should be identified early,” she said.
The delegation conducted walkabouts at several other projects, including the Enyanisweni and Joe Slovo Human Settlements projects.
The municipality’s director of human settlements said 66 of the planned 157 houses had been built at Enyanisweni since 2022. He said the contractor, Continental, had left the site after refusing to pay a protection fee and subsequently being threatened by criminals.
A community representative disputed the figure of 66, saying only 21 houses had been completed. Residents said they were unaware that the contractor had left because of extortion, as their councillor had told them that the Department of Human Settlements would not pay the contractor for six months.
At Joe Slovo, residents said they had last heard from the municipality in 2024, when the NCOP previously visited the area. They called for their houses to be completed without further delays, despite claims that the contractor had been served with letters of default. It was also revealed that the contractor had not been paid and, as a result, had failed to pay small, medium and micro enterprises.
Eastern Cape MPL Mr Thabo Matiwane, who accompanied the delegation, said it was unacceptable for criminals to take control of government projects. He also sought clarity on other challenges affecting project delivery. “Another matter you keep mentioning is the non-performing subcontractors. How do you allocate work to people you know lack the capacity and budget to complete jobs?” he asked.
The oversight visits and walkabouts will continue in the greater Komani area on Thursday.
Sibongile Maputi
19 August 2026
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