After decades of operating without a permanent brick-and-mortar facility, Woodlands Primary School in Pietermaritzburg is edging closer to finally getting the school infrastructure it has long awaited.
The project, which has endured years of setbacks caused by protests, construction mafia interference and payment disputes, is now being positioned as a flagship turnaround initiative by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.
With a new contractor appointed and new systems introduced to prevent the problems that previously stalled progress, the department says the long-troubled project is firmly back on track.
The school development project is intended to replace the existing structure with a modern, compliant facility designed to provide an enhanced learning environment for pupils.
The contract for the project, awarded at a total value of R43,094,586.11 (including VAT), was set to commence on Monday (July 27), with a duration of 15 months, concluding in November 2027.
KZN Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Martin Meyer said the project was at an advanced stage, with the previous contractor completing about 50-60% of the work.
“We’ve made this a priority project, which means that the HOD (head of department, Dr Vish Govender) will get weekly reports and I will get monthly reports on the progress of that project, because this project is one that stands as a mark of shame on this department for how it was handled previously,” Meyer said.
“Now that we’re the new Department of Public Works, we want to use this as one of our flagships to show that we have turned around. We’ve left our old bad ways behind us, and we are really now an effective department. We’re going to ensure that that project meets all its targets, which means, within time and on budget.”
The MEC noted that the construction mafia, protests and payment issues marred the project.
“We have an excellent relationship with the the Woodlands community. We’ve already had numerous engagements with the community, local councillor, and there’s good community ownership. That’s what stopped the disruptions from the construction mafia last time,” Meyer said.
He said the other stoppage was due to bad payments. The Education Department had not paid Public Works, which meant contractors could not be paid. The main contractor then left the site, and subcontractors later protested over unpaid work.
“We now have a new system where, when we start a project, the money is immediately ring-fenced by the Treasury. We’re no longer dependent on our client departments to pay us. We now put the claims for money directly into Treasury, and Treasury will make sure we get the money timeously,” Meyer explained.
“We’ve now gone 10 months that all our contractors are paid within 30 days.”
Meyer said payment issues were likely the primary cause of the delays at the school. However, with the new systems in place, they were confident that past problems would not recur.
Recently, the department announced that 82% of their stalled projects had been unlocked, thanks to Govender’s good work and his rapid response team, Meyer said.
“We’ve identified problems much quicker now. We do much more. The risk assessment team has now gone into its next phase where it does much more effective risk assessments. They used to be reactive. Now they’re much more proactive… ,” Meyer explained.
He added that most of their major stalled projects were now restarting, including Nkonjeni Hospital in Ulundi, St Francis Hospital in Zululand, King Dinuzulu Hospital in Durban, and Woodlands Primary School.
