Building on R47m school halts
A R47-MILLION construction project of a large Eastern Cape primary school has ground to a halt.
Nkwezana Primary School, situated at Crossways along the East Coast Resorts road, was designed to serve almost 800 pupils.
According to frustrated residents, work on the school came to a halt in December, just three months into the project and soon after the foundations had been laid.
The tender for construction of the school was awarded in June.
“The department of public works is an implementing agent for the Nkwezana Primary School project on behalf of the education department.
“The contractor has moved off site due to financial constraints of the client [Eastern Cape education department] side,” said Vuyokazi Mbanjwa, a spokesperson for the roads and public works department.
She said construction would start again when funds were made available by the client department.
According to provincial education spokesman Loyiso Pulumani, the project came to a halt because the department was still awaiting certain documents from the contractor before it would pay anything.
The Daily Dispatch tried to track down the contractor, Mbokotho Investments CC, for comment but was unsuccessful in its attempts.
We could find no contact information, such as a telephone number or e-mail address, online.
However, the Dispatch was able to find two addresses registered to the company.
The first led to a business complex in Vincent where Mbokotho does not have an office, and employees there had not heard of the company.
The second led us to a residential address in the Bunkers Hill area.
The postbox outside the house in question was jammed full with at least three weeks worth of community newspapers and pamphlets.
Ringing the bell at the gate went unanswered.
Mbanjwa said the new primary school would include an administration block, 14 classrooms, three Grade R classrooms, a science laboratory, a dining and kitchen block, a multipurpose centre, a media centre, two ablution blocks, a refuse room and a gatehouse.
It was envisaged as accommodating 760 pupils.
Pulumani said the school was being built because “the existing school was too small for the number of learners, and the current buildings are in very poor condition”.