Parliament, Tuesday, 25 September 2018 – Small-scale contractors who were subcontracted to build RDP houses in Soshanguve, Tshwane, have finally been paid, following intervention by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
During oversight visits to the housing development project, as part of preparations for the Taking Parliament to the People programme that will take place in Gauteng in November, the NCOP discovered that some subcontractors had not been paid for three years because the main contractor had not been paid by the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements.
According to one of the main contractors, the decision not to pay the subcontractors was in order to “put pressure on the department”.
A delegation of the NCOP, led by the House Chairperson for International Relations Ms Masefako Dikgale called a meeting with the department, the subcontractors, and one of the main contractors of the housing projects.
In that meeting, the department made a commitment that the main contractor, Vharanani Properties, would be paid by 17 October. A signed letter of commitment was handed over to the NCOP and the main contractor. The NCOP has received confirmation that 11 subcontractors have now been paid by the main contractor, after getting an assurance of payment from the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements.
“We would like to thank the Chief Executive Officer of Vharanani Properties, Mr David Mabilu, for his cooperation and commitment in resolving the matter and for making sure that the sub-contractors were paid,” said Ms Dikgale.
The House Chairperson was disappointed in the department’s failure to invite the main contractors to the NCOP’s oversight meetings, and also appealed to the other main contractor, Value Max, to come forward to find solutions to challenges identified at the Thorn Tree housing project.
The NCOP has welcomed the commitment by the subcontractors to fix faults identified during the oversight visit at extension 19 and will wait for Value Max to come forward as some faults were also identified at Thorn Tree.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE HOUSE CHAIRPERSON FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES, MS MASEFAKO DIKGALE
For media enquiries or interviews with the House Chairperson, please contact:
Name: Sakhile Mokoena
Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 2804
Cell: 081 705 2130
E-mail: smokoena@parliament.gov.za
Arrange a tour