‘It’s not completely our fault,’ says new Simunye Secondary School contractor on project delays

The company contracted to build the state-of-the-art new Simunye Secondary School in Westonaria admits there have been delays in finishing the overdue project but based on the school governing body and documents seen by TimesLIVE Premium, the Gauteng department of infrastructure development and the project manager were partly to blame. 

Pupils and staff members have, for years, been anxiously waiting to move into the new “smart” school which is meant to accommodate about 1,500 pupils. Learning now takes place in old, dilapidated containers, some with broken windows, walls agape at the corners and no electricity. 

Of the 46 containers used as classrooms and staff offices, only three had electricity, including the matric classes and staff block. 

The rest show evidence of stolen electrical wiring due to burglaries and teaching takes place in the heat of the classrooms. The heat has  left pupils and teachers struggling to stay in classes.

TimesLIVE Premium visited the school in Bekkersdal this week after the department of infrastructure and development issued a statement blaming the school contractor for failing to meet the deadline for completion of the school.

According to the department, construction started in October 2022 and was meant to be completed in October 2023.

They announced a new March 2024 deadline — a deadline which the department was not optimistic would be met.

On Tuesday, while learning was taking place, pupils were seen loitering around the property, while some found shade in between the container classrooms and under trees at least 30 minutes before the first break.

We have incidents where the pupils faint due to the heat. When it rains, many don’t come to school because it gets flooded. Winter is worse because you find far fewer pupils in school. When there was electricity, some resorted to bringing their own heaters.

—  Billy Nkabine, SGB chairperson

“Take off your hat and go to class,” school governing body (SGB) chairperson Billy Nkabinde told the pupils.

“These are the issues we are faced with. They can’t sit more than 10 minutes in class because it’s too hot. We have incidents where the pupils faint due to the heat. When it rains, many don’t come to school because it gets flooded. Winter is worse because you find far fewer pupils in school. When there was electricity, some resorted to bringing their own heaters,” Nkabinde said. 

Near the staff block are old containers with shattered windows and rubble which were previously used as the kitchen and principal’s office.

Eight containers used as toilets for pupils were cordoned off at the corner of the school, but only four were functioning. These had previously malfunctioned and were  repaired by the school and not the department.

The staff toilets are at the entrance of the school and only two of the six cubicles in the female toilets were open for use.

On the other side of the premises, pupils were buying snacks through the fence from informal traders during learning time. 

Despite the school offering science subjects, the laboratory is not operating and was locked during the visit.

The school has no library or space for extramural activities and hires buses to transport pupils 20 minutes away to practise for athletics.

Crime has also plagued the school and aside from electrical wiring stolen, food meant for the feeding scheme has also been stolen.

“There is a security guard after hours. If you come here you will see the register is signed but there is no-one guarding the school,” Nkabinde said.

A pupil told TimesLIVE Premium they are often bothered by the stench of the toilets which are sometimes being cleaned and emptied during break time. Another issue was the absenteeism of teachers, she said.

“This school is boring and we are taught near the toilets and they come during break to clean them. It stinks up the place while we are eating. We try our best to pass but some of our teachers love to bunk. Some just walk out during class and others are absent,” she said.

In part due to rotational learning since the start of the Covid-19 crisis until 2022, the matric class of 2022 had a 48.1% pass rate, but this increased to 77.3% in 2023.

However, the number of matric pupils has decreased significantly. While the school had more than 150 pupils last year, the number has dropped to 85.

“Many parents have taken their children out of the school. They don’t wait for the year to end or start. They come at any time and take their child out because of the conditions,” Nkabinde said.

More than 10km away is the construction site of the new Simunye Secondary School which includes sports grounds, laboratories, a library, classrooms, a tennis court and an assembly hall.

Nkabinde said after the delays in completing the school, at a meeting held by the school and the contractors, the department stated the construction is projected to be completed by March.

“Realistically speaking, I don’t see that happening. I honestly see this school being opened in 2025.”

Meanwhile,  the Gauteng department of infrastructure development said the delays in the completion of the project were caused largely by the contractor’s “poor performance”.

“The delays were caused by a number of issues, including community disruptions, inclement weather and non-performance by the contractor. This is evident through the progress of work on site, in accordance with the approved programme. However, this has improved after interventions by the department,” said spokesperson Castro Ngobese.

TimesLIVE Premium visited the construction site where buildings had been erected and roofs had been installed in some parts of the project by the contractor, Themane Management Consulting (TMC).

TMC’s project support manager Nkateko Nkuna said they were awarded the tender and appointed by the department in May 2022, but only received the structural drawings from the professional service providers (PSP), which included the project manager heading the overall project, in November 2022. 

The project was managed by the department, TMC as the contractor and the PSP.

Nkuna agreed the project was supposed to be completed on October 23 last year, but after requesting a three-month extension they were only approved for one month with the deadline moved to November 23 2023.

“One of the reasons the project hasn’t been completed is we have had community disruptions and delays, like any other construction project, primarily because they wanted community involvement. Those were, however, solved,” he said.

The protests led to 14 local businesses being subcontracted to work on the project.

“The second reason for the delay was that we started receiving technical information late from the PSP. If you look at the drawing register, we were appointed in May and only received the draft drawings in November. There is proof in black and white. How do you expect the contractor to start this portion of work when they received the drawings in November?”

Other issues included receiving technical information after deadline and details on items which were not included in the tender.

In letters sent to the department in January last year, TMC listed some of the challenges they faced during the project.

These included the delay in receiving a formal contract to be signed, the drawings and designs being late, receiving information on certain structures between 12 and 48 days late and the engineer not timeously certifying the work, claiming the documents were not submitted while the contractor had submitted all relevant information.

Another delay was on TMC’s part and issues with subcontractors such as late delivery of material, challenges of paying subcontractors due to insufficient funds and an armed robbery late last year where building materials and office equipment were stolen and loaded onto three trucks during load-shedding.

“In the same breath, I wouldn’t paint us as perfect,” said Nkuna.

“We have had faults on our side that we have dealt with, but we can’t say the delay is entirely our fault. In any construction there are occasions where the contractor doesn’t have some material. I don’t want us to make the conversation primarily about pointing fingers, but the facts are there. We received information late from the project manager and we were not provided with reasons. There is numerous correspondence that dates to November 2022, where we asked the department to bring to their attention the delays we have encountered.”

But Ngobese has dismissed this as untrue, stating all projects go through changes and revision. 

“All projects have continuous revisions and more detailed drawings that are issued to the contractor during the process of the construction period. The claim that the drawings were incomplete or inaccurate is not true,” he said. 

According to Nkuna’s projections, the project should be completed by June 30 this year, should everything go smoothly.

However, a statement from Ngobese places the completion at the  end of March.

] “The proposed construction programme reflects March 31 2024 as per contractor submission on January 10 2024. However, the indicative programme is June according to work done on site. The proposed programme submitted is not in line with the actual work on site and is yet to be approved,” he said.

However, TMC is now penalised for the delay by being charged R8,000 per day. This is R600,000 a month which the contractor loses, said Nkuna.

The department said there were measures to deal with poor performance and failures to meet obligations. Ngobese said the contractor was issued with contractual notices related to performance. 

“As a result, the contractor submitted intervention plans that include mobilisation of additional resources. After the intervention plan, more materials were delivered on site and the work rate has improved. The project team is monitoring the progress and impact of the intervention. Delay damages (penalties) are applicable. If everything fails, termination is an option at the employer's disposal,” Ngobese said. 

Nkabinde said, based on his observation during feedback meetings, he noticed a “lax approach” from the project manager who delayed submitting reports to the department.

“There is this middleman, who is the project manager that is between the department and the contractor. This is a stumbling block because they delay in sending the report to the department, which delays payment to the contractor and the subcontractor. I saw progress last year and it stopped again. We will meet the team again next week, but completing the project in March is unrealistic,” Nkabinde said.

The department of infrastructure development did not respond to issues related to delays in submitting drawings.