Both the cessionary and the subcontractors at the Refentse Low Cost Housing Project in Rietfontein have still not been paid and after an extended deadline for the Local Municipality of Madibeng to respond to a letter of intent it seems that a court application may be inevitable.
Kormorant reported last week on the fact that neither the subcontractors nor the cessionary have received any payment for work done since December with the municipality saying that they have not received invoices and that is why the money has not been paid.
Work at the site has been standing still for the past weeks and according to information material are now being removed from the site. Subcontractors said last week that their lives are being threatened by disgruntled employees who have not been paid for the past three months. Some employees have gone as far as confiscating household appliances from the subcontractors’ homes and announcing their intent to keep the appliances until they are paid. The subcontractors have told Kormorant that they are afraid to walk in the street for fear of being attacked. They are also afraid to sleep for fear that their houses will be burnt down.
They are supposed to be paid by the cessionary, Mozaza Civil Engineer, on a fortnightly basis for work done but have not received any payment since 21 December last year.
One of the subcontractors threatened to confiscate material from the site but have since decided to try through legal means to get his money. The subcontractors have spoken to the Local Municipality of Madibeng about their problem on several occasions but say that this has not helped in any way. “We were told by the municipality that they have not received invoices from the cessionary, Mozaza Civil Engineers, and that that is the reason why payments have not been made,” the subcontractors said.
Jan Maphosa, from Caconny Construction which is one of the subcontractors, said this week that he has been advised to approach the National Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Housing and that he plans to do so soon.
Investigation have led to information that the cessionary, Mozaza Civil Engineers, did submit invoices to the municipality and they took the first step towards legal action last week when they served the Local Municipality with a letter of intent to bring high court application should the invoices not be rectified and the money paid.
According to the agreement between the municipality, the cedant and the cessionary monies for work done are to be paid within 30 days to the cessionary on submission of invoice.
The letter of intent follows a letter to the municipality from the company in early March in which they request the municipality to pay the money owed for work done. According to Mozaza, although they did submit invoices the money had allegedly already been paid out, but not to them.
In response, Mr. Tumelo Tshabalala, communications officer for the Local Municipality of Madibeng said that only one invoice was submitted by Mozaza Civil Engineers and that that money had been paid. According to him the other invoices received were from the cedent. “Other payments were released as per invoices submitted by the developer and not the cedent as it is alleged,” Tshabalala said.
Mozaza Civil Engineers indicated this week that they received no response to the letter of intent last week and that the deadline was extended. “The matter is in the hands of the legal team and they have indicated that should there be no response again that a high court application will follow,” a spokesperson for Mozaza Civil Engineers told Kormorant.
The cedent referred all enquiries to the Local Municipality of Madibeng. - Kormorant
Kormorant reported last week on the fact that neither the subcontractors nor the cessionary have received any payment for work done since December with the municipality saying that they have not received invoices and that is why the money has not been paid.
Work at the site has been standing still for the past weeks and according to information material are now being removed from the site. Subcontractors said last week that their lives are being threatened by disgruntled employees who have not been paid for the past three months. Some employees have gone as far as confiscating household appliances from the subcontractors’ homes and announcing their intent to keep the appliances until they are paid. The subcontractors have told Kormorant that they are afraid to walk in the street for fear of being attacked. They are also afraid to sleep for fear that their houses will be burnt down.
They are supposed to be paid by the cessionary, Mozaza Civil Engineer, on a fortnightly basis for work done but have not received any payment since 21 December last year.
One of the subcontractors threatened to confiscate material from the site but have since decided to try through legal means to get his money. The subcontractors have spoken to the Local Municipality of Madibeng about their problem on several occasions but say that this has not helped in any way. “We were told by the municipality that they have not received invoices from the cessionary, Mozaza Civil Engineers, and that that is the reason why payments have not been made,” the subcontractors said.
Jan Maphosa, from Caconny Construction which is one of the subcontractors, said this week that he has been advised to approach the National Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Housing and that he plans to do so soon.
Investigation have led to information that the cessionary, Mozaza Civil Engineers, did submit invoices to the municipality and they took the first step towards legal action last week when they served the Local Municipality with a letter of intent to bring high court application should the invoices not be rectified and the money paid.
According to the agreement between the municipality, the cedant and the cessionary monies for work done are to be paid within 30 days to the cessionary on submission of invoice.
The letter of intent follows a letter to the municipality from the company in early March in which they request the municipality to pay the money owed for work done. According to Mozaza, although they did submit invoices the money had allegedly already been paid out, but not to them.
In response, Mr. Tumelo Tshabalala, communications officer for the Local Municipality of Madibeng said that only one invoice was submitted by Mozaza Civil Engineers and that that money had been paid. According to him the other invoices received were from the cedent. “Other payments were released as per invoices submitted by the developer and not the cedent as it is alleged,” Tshabalala said.
Mozaza Civil Engineers indicated this week that they received no response to the letter of intent last week and that the deadline was extended. “The matter is in the hands of the legal team and they have indicated that should there be no response again that a high court application will follow,” a spokesperson for Mozaza Civil Engineers told Kormorant.
The cedent referred all enquiries to the Local Municipality of Madibeng. - Kormorant