Concern at border posts’ revamp delay
The organised construction industry has expressed serious doubt about the reasons provided by the Border Management Agency (BMA) for the extension of the date for the submission of bids for a multibillion-rand South African border posts redevelopment project.
Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi announced in June 2022 that his department would, “in a few months’ time”, issue a public request for proposals for a project to completely overhaul and rebuild South Africa’s six busiest border posts at a cost of more than R6 billion.
In September 2023, he announced that the request for pro- posals had been published for in- terested parties to submit bids on a public-private partnership arrangement for the redevelopment of the border posts.
Interested parties had to submit their bids by 4 March, 2024. However, the BMA reported on Monday that the date for the submission of bids to redevelop and redesign the six border posts had been extended to 4 July, 2024.
It said the extension followed requests from several potential bidders to extend the deadline after potential bidders undertook organised site visits in October and November 2023 to assess the
current state of the infrastructure and appreciate the complexity of the work at hand.
However, Roy Mnisi, executive director of Master Builders South Africa (MBSA) , a leading building and construction national representative body, said on Monday the extension announcement was “very surprising”.
Mnisi stressed that contractors need the work and MBSA members have always complained about tender cancellations and postponements, and delays in either awarding projects or in ensuring
the required licences and permits have been obtained for a particular project to start.
“We don’t have complaints about the time being short to tender and members needing to have more time,” he said. “So I very much doubt the reason given [for the extension] is actually correct. There is something that perhaps we are not being told.
“If we keep on postponing, cancelling or going back and forth [on projects], it just doesn’t work for the industry, that is already ailing,” he said.