A contractor in Mpumalanga was forced to abandon constructing an R11m road after he and his employees were allegedly threatened and intimidated by a local business forum.
Qubekelaphambile Construction wrote to Nkangala municipality in May informing the relevant officials it was unable to continue constructing King Mabhoko and Gogo Esther Mahlangu road in JS Moroka municipality in Siyabuswa.
“We were intimidated on the day of the sod-turning by Dr JS Moroka business forum. The safety of our employees and the name of our company are more important than this project. We are therefore not interested in continuing to do the work under such threats and [are] accordingly withdrawing from the project,” said Qubekelaphambile in the letter.
Dr JS Moroka business forum chair Jabulani “Skhulu” Mahlangu denied they had intimidated Qubekelaphambile’s owners and employees.
“The problem is that the business forum complained that someone else should be appointed because the municipality is always appointing people who are conflicted. They don’t want other people to eat, so now the business forum is taking a stand for our local businesses to also benefit,” he said.
“Some of us are members of the ANC in good standing, and we have been telling our leadership to get everyone to benefit from these projects, not just a few individuals,” said Mahlangu.
The safety of our employees and the name of our company are more important than this project
— Qubekelaphambile Construction
Sources with knowledge of government contracts and business in Siyabuswa, said that, after the sod-turning ceremony, the business forum met with Nkangala mayor Thomas Ngwenya and gave him a list of possible contractors to take over building the road.
“What happened there was absolute criminality,” the source said. “Instead of Nkangala municipality getting law enforcement involved after receiving a letter from a contractor cancelling the contract, the mayor meets [the] people who are alleged to have caused the project to be cancelled.
“It now means that, every time the business forum is not happy with a contractor, they will just threaten and intimidate them and force the municipality to appoint people they prefer.”
Sources say that during the sod-turning ceremony, held at a community hall in Siyabuswa, local contractors rejected the appointment of Qubekelaphambile and accused the municipality of favouring the company and not local firms.
But Ngwenya, through his chief of staff Dumisani Hleza, denied he was given the names of companies to take over the project.
“Councillors [are barred] from participating in SCM [supply chain management] processes, and at no stage would the mayor issue ultra vires instructions. There has not been any threat or intimidation directed to the district municipality by any individual or group of people. Should there be a need to involve law enforcement, the municipality will not hesitate to report such matters to the relevant law enforcement authorities.”
He said the mayor had met with the business forum to encourage interest in community development and involvement in economic transformation and job creation in the district, as well as access to economic opportunities for local companies.
Nkangala municipality has enjoyed clean audits in the past few years under the stewardship of its municipal manager, Margaret “Maggie” Skosana, who has faced threats to her life.
Skosana and her driver, Gugu Mtsweni, were in October 2022 kidnapped in Middelburg when they entered Nkangala municipality’s premises. Her car was found abandoned later the same day, with her wheelchair and handbag inside it, at a nearby mine.
The two were dumped by their assailants in bushes near the N14 in Diepsloot.
The Sunday Times recently published a series of articles from businesses and communities revealing the rise in extortion and protection-fee criminal activities across the country.
Law enforcement, government officials and political leaders have raised concerns about government projects being stalled because of groups that demand either protection fees or a stake in a project.
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