EC mud schools tender blunder

Government agencies tasked with hiring contractors to eradicate unsafe schools are giving tenders to companies that were either not registered or had been suspended by the government’s construction watchdog.

Most of these unsafe schools, which include mud structures, are concentrated in the Eastern Cape.

This emerged in a damning report tabled by the office of auditor-general South Africa (AG) Kimi Makwetu to parliament’s portfolio committee on Basic Education recently.

The report was looking at the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative’s (Asidi) financial performance during the 2015-16 financial year.

Asidi is a programme managed by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) that is meant to fast-track the eradication of unsafe schools.

The report found that, in some instances, implementing agencies were appointing contractors that fell foul of the the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).

The CIDB is a public entity which falls under the national Department of Public Works, tasked with regulating the construction industry.

A senior manager at the AG’s office, Godfrey Diale, told the committee that in some cases there were no controls in place in the processing of payments for contractors.

“AGSA has at times done the work of a quantity surveyor with insights of infrastructure and engineering.

“As much as teaching and learning are the priorities of the department, if it spends R2-billion on a project, quality assurance needs to be done.

“There are challenges with DPW as an implementing agent and definitely the Department and provinces are aware of that.

“It is upon the leadership of the department to take action against those who are bringing the DBE into disrepute,” Diale said in the report.

The CIDB board is appointed by Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi and contractors are required to register, with the CIDB, construction projects above R200 000 in the public sector and those above R10-million for the private sector and state-owned entities.

The report also noted that R2.46-billion had been allocated for the programme and 93% of it had been spent. Four Eastern Cape schools were cited in the report.

The AG’s office said the schools had been negatively affected by the way their projects were implemented. The report stated that at Kaja Senior Secondary School, the completion of a six-month contract which began in September 2011 had been delayed for nearly three years.

“The reasons could not be established,” the report stated.

It further stated that project information requested for Cabana Junior Secondary School, Mavatha Junior Secondary School and Xolobe Junior Secondary School was “not submitted for audit and project information such as practical completion date could not be drawn from a reliable project management system”.

At the Mkanzini Junior Secondary School, the report states that the foundation surface was of poor quality and “will have to be redone and the wall is cracked due to incorrect work methods of the contractor”.

Challenges facing Asidi include:

• Projects exceeded their agreed timeframes and budgets because project managers did not monitor and report on the performance of contractors and did not take corrective measures when needed;
• There was also need to beef up compliance and also reporting on performance;
• The underspending was due to the process of rationalisation of schools, which meant combining schools with few pupils with larger schools;
• Contracts were awarded to bidders using points that were not calculated according to the requirements of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and its regulations; and
• Irregular expenditure in payment for water, electricity, sanitation to implementing agents.

Attempts were made to get comment from DBE spokesman Elijah Mhlanga but a response had not been received at the time of writing. — msindisif@dispatch.co.za