Contractors deny payment claims

Housing contractors in Nelson Mandela Bay dispute the municipality’s claim that Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s intervention is working, saying it is a mischievous propaganda.

The Housing Forum, which claims to represent 409 businesses, said contractors were worse off than before the national government intervened in the troubled municipal department in September.

Human settlements acting executive director Mandla George said on Friday that the intervention had yielded results as the metro had managed to pay R33.4-million by November 9.

A further R1.8-million was due to be paid yesterday.

However, forum chairman Andile Mtshwane said yesterday that the municipality still owed contractors more than R21-million for work done.

Some claims had been submitted as far back as June, he said.

“We believe it is mischievous propaganda [to say the city has paid contractors]. It is misleading. Most of the contractors are telling workers they have not been paid. [Now] workers will think it is contractors who are not paying them.

“What he [George] tells us is that he wants to verify the claims, and [he] is creating a bottleneck at his department.”

Two weeks ago workers at a Uitenhage site stabbed each other because they thought some had been paid while others had not, Mtshwane said.

The company’s owner, who did not want to be named, said workers had also been to her house demanding to be paid.

“Our lives are in danger now and workers do not understand when you tell them you have not been paid yet.”

The forum said that when they met George last Wednesday, he promised they would be paid on December 6.

Member Vuyisa Monki said they had not taken to the streets in protest as much as before as they were trying to resolve the issue in meetings.

Sisulu’s spokesman, Xolani Xundu, said the government would not skip any processes because the metro did not want to pay contractors without verifying their claims.

“All claims are subjected to rigorous scrutiny . We therefore invite contractors with valid contracts and approved construction work of good quality to submit their invoices, or copies, for verification and processing of payment.”