Another Winnie house delay
Facelift of the historic site hits another snag
WRANGLING over a R2.7 million contract is set to cause further delays to the government’s ambitious project to refurbish the historic Winnie Madikizela-Mandela House in Brandfort, Free State – 12 years after it was officially announced.
A Free State architect insists she is still involved in the reconstruction of the house, despite the national Department of Arts and Culture stating it was planning to replace her company.
Arch-Live Architects was appointed as a principal agent to oversee the renovation of the house, the clinic established by Madikizela-Mandela that was bombed by apartheid security forces, and building of a new extension to the property.
Letsabisa Lerotholi of Arch-Live Architects told The Star yesterday that as far as she was concerned, she was still involved in the project.
“It’s our project. We did work up until just before construction was stopped. It’s our project. That’s what I know, until I get documentation saying otherwise, then we will see what to do to take it further,” said Lerotholi.
The project, first announced in 2005, had previously been managed by the Independent Development Trust (IDT), but the department terminated its contract after several delays. The project was scheduled to be complete by the end of January 2015.
On November 3, the department sought legal opinion from the office of the state attorney and stated that Arch-Live Architects (or any of its appointees) do not have a contractual right to demand that it retain them as architects or principal agents to appoint a quantity surveyor and electrical engineer on the Madikizela-Mandela project.
The state attorney’s office also advised that Arch-Live Architects’ appointment by the IDT did not create any contractual connection or rights and obligations between the company or any of its appointees and the department.
The department proceeded to appoint a company to resume the refurbishment, now expected to be completed within 18 months, at the cost of an estimated R2.7m.
A company will also be appointed by the department to immediately put up a perimeter fence and provide 24-hour security.
In September, the department received correspondence from ArchLive Architects asking for clarity on the standing of the professional team – appointed by the IDT – which included the principal agent, architect, civil and structural engineers, electrical engineers, quantity surveyor, heritage architect, and health and safety consultants.
The IDT is currently embroiled in another legal dispute after the state-owned trust disputed the contract termination and initiated an arbitration process. The Madikizela-Mandela House project was affected by this termination as no further funds could be transferred until the dispute was resolved.
The department cancelled the contract due to “cessation of the works for a continuous period of 90 calendar days or an intermittent period totalling 120 calendar days”. An investigation commissioned by the department found that it did not receive value for money and was overcharged on professional fees.
The IDT appointed DM-DMZ Construction to renovate the house and the bombed clinic and extend the property, but the company abandoned the site for two months due to non-payment by the trust. The IDT blamed delayed payments on its changeover of financial systems.
DM-DMZ Construction owner Danjana Mkwane said he cancelled the contract to work on the Madikizela-Mandela House project because IDT did not want to pay him. Mkwane said he did not remember how much he was owed, and exhausted the option of pursuing the matter.
In August, the trust said it was keen to complete the project as soon as the government gave it the go-ahead.
The department said it would appoint a new implementing agent to complete the Madikizela-Mandela House.
Madikizela-Mandela was banished to the Free State town in the late 1970s by the apartheid regime and spent nearly a decade there.