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Signpost for the Rivoni School for the Blind.
It is unclear when construction of the multi-million rand Rivoni School for the Blind in Elim, outside Louis Trichardt in Limpopo, will be completed.
This amid allegations that the project’s main contractor owes sub-contractors millions of rands, despite being paid over R150 million by the project’s implementing agent, the Independent Development Trust (IDT).
Construction was initially scheduled to be completed in June last year.
The project’s steering committee alleges that about 12 sub-contractors have not received payment in the past nine months.
The committee’s Vicky Muvhali says efforts to enquire about the reason for be halting of construction have not borne any fruit.
“According to the plan, the school was supposed to have been handed over to the community or to the school to be used around December. The school still needs more than five months to be completed. So, as steering committee, we are worried and we have been asking the contractor in terms of his progress because we realize that there has been a slow pace of implementation of this project. There are a lot of contractors who are not paid, it’s almost nine to 11 months now, they are not paid, they can’t do anything,” says Muvhali.
Meanwhile, the IDT says the current contractor is under business rescue and owes subcontractors.
Responding through an email, the IDT says that it will initiate a process to advertise a tender for the completion of the outstanding work.
However, Limpopo education department spokesperson, Mike Maringa says 93% of the work has been completed.
“As the Department of Education, we pay only for the work done. So, the 93% that I am taking about is the work that the contractor has done that we can verify as the Department of Education and there was nothing that was paid upfront. We pay per claim that are submitted and everything was verified by both our quantity surveyor, project managers from both education department and IDT. So, unfortunately, the contractor had his own challenges with the project when it was at 93%. We were hoping to have received the infrastructure by July, but due to circumstances that are beyond our control, it looks like he is failing,” says Maringa.
Unclear when multi-million rand Rivoni School for the Blind in Elim will be completed
