The Sanral project on the N4 freeway between Rebecca Street and the Pelindaba Toll Gate is scheduled to be completed by November, despite facing threats by individuals aiming to solicit money from the contractor.
A source who wanted to remain anonymous said the project has been riddled with death threats from the so-called mafia group to those working on the site for the maintenance of the route.
“There have been several road project stoppages where the contractor has been compromised by the street gangsters masquerading as community members.”
On May 18, a white Toyota Quantum allegedly stopped at the site and a group of men got out with guns and fired shots. Then on July 17, a Toyota Venture filled with men also stopped and approached workers and threatened them again to stop with on-site operations.
Project manager Tony Seloana confirmed there were stoppages to work, due to a few individuals who aimed to solicit money from the principal contractor without bidding or doing work.
“Every time the contractor experiences stoppages, the time for completion gets moved further out.”
According to Seloana, threats have been made against the current contractor.
He said the matter had been reported to the relevant police services for further assistance.
“We hope this will be resolved accordingly so we can continue to deliver on this critical project.
“Our projects aim to uplift communities and local businesses and we welcome all stakeholders who bid for opportunities on merit.”
He said Sanral is dealing with the challenges within the contractual provisions of the project and there are no changes to the project scope contributing to the delays.
The agency has no plans to dismiss the current contractor as “the situation is not due to any wrongdoing by the contractor”.
The project budget will not affected by the challenges and there will not be any additional costs.
Seloana said the project is being implemented within the approved budget, therefore no further changes will be implemented to the allocated budget.
“The project is currently in construction and is scheduled to be completed by November.”
According to Seloana, only the section between Rebecca Street and Quagga Toll Plaza is currently being worked on, to finish off what remained before the interruptions occurred.
“One lane is left open to accommodate traffic in both directions at all times, and the section will soon be completed and all lanes opened to traffic.”
Police did not comment at the time of publishing.
The disruption to construction work comes at a time when Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson recently welcomed the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa to turn South Africa into a construction site. This will be done through increased infrastructure investment and support for Infrastructure South Africa as the central authority for the co-ordination and planning of major construction projects.
Spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said Macpherson welcomed the president’s commitment to addressing the rise of the construction mafia, which has paralysed infrastructure investments in many provinces.
“The minister looks forward to working with his colleagues across the Government of National Unity, in particular the Minister of Police, to restore the rule of law at construction projects to safeguard investment in infrastructure that can contribute to building a better South Africa.”
Listen to Macpherson on his call to turn South Africa into a construction site:
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