Municipality fines contractor after lengthy delays in building stadium leave community in the lurch

The municipality says R10-million has been spent on this site. (Photo: Thembi Siaga)

26 Sep 2024

Construction started in August 2023 and was meant to take up to six months, but nearly half the work has still not been done.

The Makhado Municipality is going after a tardy contractor to recover some funds after the company has taken more than a year to build a multimillion-rand stadium in Limpopo.

The contractor, Gombameni Risk and Event Management, was awarded the contract to build the Tshivhuyuni Sports Facility at a cost of R17-million. Work started in August 2023, and was meant to be completed within six months. When this date came and went, the municipality set another deadline for June this year. But the stadium remains incomplete.

The facility is expected to benefit more than 3,000 households in and around the Tshivhuyuni community, which is about 35km southeast of Louis Trichardt.

Last week, dozens of residents gathered at Tshivhuyuni Community Hall to demand answers from the contractor and a few workers who were still on site. When we arrived, it was evident that several structures were incomplete, including the spectator stands, toilets, fencing and some buildings on the site.

The municipality says R10-million has been spent on this site. (Photo: Thembi Siaga)

On Tuesday, 17 September 2024, the Makhado Municipality told GroundUp that when the contractor missed the revised deadline in June, officials decided to impose penalties on it. These penalties required the contractor to pay a specified amount of money to the municipality for each day the project was delayed, the municipality said.

To date, the municipality has spent R10.4-million on the project, which is currently 58% complete.

The contractor’s scope of work includes establishing a water reticulation network, constructing a soccer pitch, rugby field, change rooms, a guardhouse and entrance, perimeter fence and gate, and a steel grandstand, among other features. Once complete, the sports facility will also include an outdoor gym area.

Downed tools

Workers at the site told GroundUp that they had downed tools since July and only returned on 13 August due to unpaid wages. Some workers claim they haven’t been paid for seven months.

“Some of us have left our jobs because we weren’t getting paid. We had to take care of our children,” said a worker who asked not to be named. The workers were paid two days after GroundUp visited the site.

According to residents, the sports facility is crucial for their community. The only other stadium in the area is run down and dusty.

“We were expecting the stadium to be completed so that several villages under Tshivhuyuni could benefit,” said local soccer player Rinae Mulaudzi. He said there were local teams that participated in the prestigious ABC Motsepe League, and this stadium would be a great place for the players to showcase their talent.

After the meeting with the community last week, GroundUp approached Thomas Muluvhu, the managing director of Gombameni Risk and Event Management, but he refused to comment. We phoned Muluvhu on Friday and he hung up on us. All subsequent phone calls and messages to him have gone unanswered.

Makhado Municipality spokesperson Mpho Rathando said that officials were in talks with the contractor to work out a “catch-up plan”, given the penalties now imposed. He did not specify how much the contractor would have to pay back.

“This plan would outline a revised timeline for the project’s completion. The funds spent on the project so far correspond to the current 58% construction progress,” said Rathando. DM

First published by GroundUp.

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Downed tools