No 1's man pulls out of contract due to lack of funds

23 June 2016 - 09:06 By MATTHEW SAVIDES

The high-flying businessman who famously offered to pay for the upgrades to President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead has pulled out of a lucrative Durban housing contract, saying he does not have the money to do the job.Philani "PG" Mavundla was awarded a multi-million contract in January to build 126 double-storey houses at Durban's flagship Cornubia housing development. But less than five months later it emerged that his company, PG Mavundla Engineering, could no longer afford to do the work."The contractor [PG Mavundla Engineering] had difficulty in bringing the contract to completion due to financial constraints and has subsequently withdrawn from the tender," a report presented before the eThekwini municipality's executive committee this week states.The municipality told The Times that Mavundla's company had not been paid a cent for the work since the tender was awarded.PG Mavundla Engineering has been involved in numerous major projects, including at the R8-billion King Shaka International Airport and the R1-billion Sibaya Casino complex. It also has a large stake in the construction of Eskom's R8.9-billion Ingula power station.Mavundla has strong ties to the ANC and was a former mayor of Greytown.Text messages and phone calls to Mavundla went unanswered.According to a report tabled before the municipality's executive committee this week, the city was not aware of Mavundla's financial problems when the contract was awarded...

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