Thobeka Ngema|Published1 hour agoIN PICS: Upgrade of KZN school faces delays amid impact of construction mafia

Construction delays plague the Sibonginhlanhla Primary School project, pushing completion to June 2027. The construction of Sibonginhlanhla Primary School in Waterloo, Verulam, is facing a year-long delay, pushing the completion date to June 2027. Despite a R73.9 million budget, the school is only 53% complete, plagued by a toxic mix of extortion by the construction mafia, severe contractor performance issues, and persistent payment disputes, with costs now ballooning to R84.3m.

KwaZulu-Natal Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Martin Meyer expressed disappointment that the promised school, scheduled for completion this month, will instead be delayed by another year. “I am highly disappointed at what I saw here today, but I’m also hopeful in a sense that the department’s already started taking steps and we are going to improve this, and we will finish this school,” Meyer said. The MEC said theR73.9m projectstarted in September 2023 and was scheduled to be completed in this month. However, issues like delays in contractor payments also affected timeous payments to local subcontractors; contractor’s poor performance and unacceptable quality; contractor’s financial constraints, despite the 9GB grading; inconsistent site management resources; work package disagreement between the contractor and local subcontractors; andextortionists.