Metro told not to hire unregistered contractors

THE NELSON Mandela Bay municipality must implement remedial action to ensure that unregistered builders are not given tenders for housing projects.

This was noted after a Port Elizabeth couple, owners of a construction company, took the municipality to court after they did not receive money they believed was owed to them.

The case between Goba-Gcora Construction and the municipality – with the public protector listed as an interested party – was concluded last week.

The lengthy battle between the municipality and Sipho Gcora and Khuselwa GobaGcora, owners of the construction company, dates back to 2009, when the company was employed as a subcontractor for WK Construction, which was appointed by the metro to construct RDP houses in KwaNobuhle.

The couple took their plea to then public protector Thuli Madonsela when they did not receive full payment for services, with the amount due being estimated by Madonsela at between R28.5-million and R53-million with interest.

The Herald previously reported that the company had been employed to construct 1 435 houses, but money paid over to the metro from the provincial Department of Human Settlements for this project had not been paid to them in full.

The municipality said in court papers that all the money had been paid over to the main contractor.

According to Madonsela’s report, the “alleged maladministration of the municipality” in this regard had “allegedly resulted in the complainant suffering prejudice”.

The metro had previously stated that there was no direct contract between them and Goba-Gcora.

Judge Jeremy Pickering ruled that Madonsela’s recommendation for the metro to pay the deficit to Goba-Gcora be set aside.

This follows the metro’s application, made last year, for Madonsela’s report to be reviewed.

Pickering conceded in his judgment that the municipality had acted irregularly – as pointed out in Madonsela’s report – by awarding the contract to WK Construction as the company was not registered with the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC).

He accepted some of Madonsela’s recommendations, including that the metro had to put specific systems in place “to regulate the effects of the deviation” and that its officials had to be educated regarding the Municipal Finance Management Act.

Pickering, however, said city manager Johann Mettler had said this would be done.

“In future, any contractor who is appointed will have to meet the criteria for home builders,” Mettler said.

“We made a technical error that was not linked to the losses incurred [by Goba-Gcora], but it cannot happen again.

Gcora said the ruling had not made sense to him, as Pickering had set aside some of Madonsela’s recommendations and accepted others.

“We will apply for leave to appeal [this week],” he said.