A Gauteng-based company, FM Infrastructure, has been appointed to construct the Kimberley nursing college academic campus, while local contractors are adamant that they should be prioritised for job opportunities.
A GAUTENG-based company, FM Infrastructure, has been appointed to construct the Kimberley nursing college academic campus, while local contractors are adamant that they should be prioritised for job opportunities.
The local contractors have asserted that despite being overlooked in favour of out-of-province contractors, they possess the necessary expertise to handle the work.
“We also want to be involved in this R600 million project because work is scarce in the Northern Cape. We are struggling to make ends meet. This will be the fourth contractor on site, while sub-contractors are still waiting for over a year for the payment of outstanding retention fees,” they said.
The nurses’ accommodation site remains unoccupied because a certificate of completion has not been issued yet. This delay is reportedly due to electricity supply issues caused by ongoing vandalism at the sub-station.
Local contractors have questioned why the first phase was not completed before moving on to the second phase.
“The electricity problems will also affect the rest of the project, where we will also be left waiting for payment. Nurses were supposed to have occupied the accommodation section a long time ago.”
Department of Roads and Public Works spokesperson Zandisile Luphahla pointed out that the majority of large infrastructure projects were awarded to big national companies.
He indicated that work had not yet begun on the second phase of the site.
“The appointed contractor has invited service providers to register their businesses on the central supply database. Any suitably qualified service provider in South Africa is eligible to apply. However, we do promote the employment of local contractors. Community liaison officers must be appointed from the ward and locals should be given a large percentage of the work,” said Luphahla.
He noted that contractors were expected to possess the necessary construction gradings and fulfil the necessary criteria before being appointed.
“We do want any shoddy workmanship. We will not allow the construction mafia to derail the project that has a completion date of April 27, 2026.”
He added that the first phase was 98 percent complete and would be handed over “soon”.
“Once the completion certificate is issued, retention monies can be paid out. The second phase was supposed to have started last year so we do not want to delay the project any further. Checks and balances are in place to ensure that contractors have the necessary capacity and credentials in order to complete the work.”
Luphahla stated that cables that were specially procured for the site were continually being stolen.
“We will have to employ additional security to prevent cable theft,” he said.
