Cape Town - A multi-million rand housing project in Gugulethu has turned into a nightmare for construction subcontractors, who claim they are being used as cheap labour.
Construction work at the site along Govan Mbeki Road, had stopped as there was not enough building material and equipment available, according to the subcontractors.
The project, known as the Gugulethu Infill housing project stretches over two sites in Gugulethu and Mau Mau in Nyanga, and has been plagued by several challenges since it started in 2016 with subcontractors now fearing even more delays.
When the Weekend Argus visited the site this week, there was no construction taking place.
Only a few bricks and a few old wheelbarrows stacked together could be seen.
According to the City, three contractors, Simply Do Construction, Masikhule Construction & Consultants and Gigkha Construction, were employed to work on the site.
Gigkha's contract was terminated due to poor performance, and Mayoral Committee for Human Settlements, Malusi Booi, and the remaining two contractors, then engaged the services of another construction company, Boon Africa.
The subcontractors said they dealt directly with Boon Africa. Their spokesperson, Jela Nyosi, said despite attempts to address the concerns with Booi and his officials, had been in vain.
Nyosi said it “was clear that the City was not interested in our plight or to investigate our concerns with the working conditions and the payments”.
"Community members have approached us wanting to know what the hold up is to this development. We have been trying to manage the situation. We are fed up now as there's no transparency and willingness by the City and the main contractors to address the matter", Nyosi said.
He said the subcontractors had not been paid since taking on the work. “In order to secure the continuation of work we asked the contractors to pay the workers directly and they did so. But we are being treated as volunteers, " Nyosi said.
He also questioned what the R98 million was being spent on when the rates they were being offered were also a "pittance", and did not take into account the rising costs.
"We were told to pay bricklayers and labourers fixed amounts by Boon Africa yet we are not being paid. We are given three days to complete a single unit and in the absence of building material and equipment, it takes even more, resulting in extra costs and we are then left with no money. If this problem is not resolved at the end of the project we will walk away with zero payments, instead benefiting the main contractors," Nyosi added.
Workers used old wheelbarrows to carry one bag of cement at a time from one end to another of the site and also carried bricks by hand, he added.
He said the subcontractors were committed to ensuring that the housing project beneficiaries would move into their units as soon as possible as they had been waiting for "far too long".
But Booi said City officials had two engagements with "this group". However, they were not satisfied with the response provided and requested to meet with the provincial government. Booi claimed that the roof supply for the units was ready for delivery once the neighbouring Victoria Mxenge community allowed the development’s sewer network to connect to the existing sewer line.
Booi said 29 units were scheduled for handover by the end of May 2021 and a further 128 units during July 2021.
However, Nyosi said with no building material available, the project would take longer to complete.
At a sod turning ceremony in April 2019 Booi indicated that the project would yield 570 housing units.
At the start of the project the City had indicated that the beneficiaries would include backyarders, the elderly and people with disabilities.
Simply Do Construction’s, Frits De Klerk, refused to be drawn on the matter saying that the contractual relationship between the company, clients and service providers were "confidential".
Boon Africa failed to respond to questions sent, and attempts to reach Masikhule failed as their listed contact number was not working.
Weekend Argus