Pupils at Simunye Secondary School in Westonaria, west of Joburg, may have to wait until the end of the year to move into their new school as its construction, which started four years ago, continues to be stalled.
Simunye is one of seven new schools in Gauteng where construction has been marred by delays due to the poor performance of appointed contractors and their inability to manage their finances. This has led to disputes with subcontractors that have ended with some projects abandoned or sites closed.
In February last year, Themane Management Consulting (TMC), the main contractor at Simunye, anticipated the project would be completed by the end of June last year after delayed submission of invoices and community protests about job opportunities. At the time, the project stood at 55% completion.
However, by June this year, Gauteng MEC for education Matome Chiloane said the R124m project stood at 66% completion because of the contractor’s underperformance.
Responding to questions in the legislature two months ago, Chiloane said: “All blocks are far from completion. These activities are behind: ceilings, painting, floor covering, electrical installation, mechanical installation and ICT installation. Contract termination has been initiated and the department is waiting for feedback from the Gauteng department of infrastructure development.”
This doesn’t bring comfort to Simunye’s 1,300 pupils, who have been learning in crammed mobile classrooms made from ship containers.
Chiloane told the legislature Simunye, Inkululeko Yesizwe in Vlakfontein, Rust Ter Vaal in Vereeniging, Refithlilepe and Semphato in Soshanguve, +Dr WK du Plessis in Springs and Thabotona in Palmridge were delayed school projects.
Sowetan visited some old schools last week and found pupils being taught in ship container classrooms and using mobile toilets. Teachers work from asbestos structures that serve as the staff room and principal’s office.
The construction of the new Rust Ter Vaal school, which started in September 2024 with a budget of R45m, was meant to be completed y this week but, according to Chiloane, completion stood at 64% due to community disruptions and the contractor’s poor cashflow management.
“A completion contractor was appointed. The contractor is behind schedule by 14%. The contractor submitted a revised recovery plan. There is a risk of [losing] power connection. Emfuleni municipality needs to confirm if the municipality has capacity,” said Chiloane in response to questions from the DA.
Mpho Masete from Quench Management Services, a site manager at Simunye, told Sowetan the project has been dragging on since 2019.
“We came here to financially assist when the original contractor, Themane, was struggling. At first, we were only helping with finances but in April this year we officially took over the project.
"We brought in our own management, artisans and technical team. We also took over the liability of paying local workers because they had not been paid properly since the project started,” said Masete.
He said significant progress had been made since Quench Management took over.
“By October or November, we might be speaking a different language. Pupils should be able to start using the school by then.”
Masete estimated about R60m of the R124m budget allocated for the project has been spent.
Theo Nkonki, spokesperson for MEC for the department of infrastructure development, said they have entered into a contract with Themane as the principal contractor, which has subcontracted portions of the project to Quench.
“The anticipated project completion date remains December 2025, with the contractor liable to contractual penalties for delays. It is evident supplementary funding will not be required to satisfactorily complete the school’s construction work,” he said.
Rust Ter Vaal Secondary School student governing body chairperson David Oliphant highlighted several reasons for the delay.
“The delays were caused by late payments to SMMEs and heavy rainfall in recent months. We had to allow the contractor to recover from that. The old school is within walking distance from the new one. Pupils are being taught in temporary mobile classes after the asbestos structures of the old school were demolished last year.”
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