A prominent Limpopo construction mogul is taking the bankrupt Fetakgomo-Tubatse local municipality in the Sekhukhune region to the Limpopo Division of the High Court in Polokwane to demand more than R9 million of unpaid service fees.
A prominent Limpopo construction mogul is taking the bankrupt Fetakgomo-Tubatse local municipality in the Sekhukhune region to the Limpopo Division of the High Court in Polokwane to demand more than R9 million of unpaid service fees.
The standoff between the two parties comes after Mphaphuli Consulting (Pty) Ltd was contracted by the municipality in 2013, to electrify 20 000 households in 25 villages in and around Burgersfort.
The project was funded by the department of mineral resources and energy through the integrated national electrification project. It was budgeted at R350 million.
The company was appointed in March 2013, and electrification of the houses got going in August 2015. Problems started after the merging of Tubatse local municiality and Fetakgomo local municipality, just after the 2016 municipal polls.
On 22 November, 2017, the company invoiced the municipality for R9 763 860.89. The payment was supposed to have been made within 30 days.
But 30 days turned into four years. According to court papers, seen by The Citizen, the municipality alleges that the company has charged them exorbitantly.
The council argued that the company had charged R16 000 per unit instead of R10 499.98. In light of this, the municipality wanted the company to pay back R76 million of the total money already paid for the project.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is currently probing the project. Yesterday, company director Lufuno Mphaphuli said he was baffled by the municipality’s claims.
He said all logistics and contract specifications got the blessings of both Eskom and the department. “This is pure politics,” he said.
He said after the council failed to pay the money, he took the matter to the high court in Polokwane where the municipality lost the case.
“Four days later, they appealed the judgment at the Supreme Court of Appeal, but still lost. Now they realised they don’t have a leg to stand on. Instead of just implementing the court order, they appealed again,” said Mphaphuli.
He said the brouhaha surrounding his company and the municipality was causing damage to communities. “Because of this protracted feud, thousands of families in Fetakgomo-Tubatse are still using firewood to cook and boil water to bath.
“Some of them use candles for light at night, 28 years after democracy,” aid Mphaphuli.
Disgruntled community leader Timothy Mgiba, who worked on the project, said life was not the same in villages left out due to the protracted payment saga.
“For example, in Phiring, near Leboweng, women are raped constantly while going to fetch firewood in the mountains or fetch water from valleys and fountains. Burglaries in houses and shops have become the order of the day.
“These two must just bury the hatchet because when elephants fight, the grass always suffers.” General secretary for the Bolsheviks political party Seun Mogotji accused the council of wasting money meant for service delivery on appeals.
“The municipality must just admit it has lost. Why waste more money on a battle you know you will never win. Who is benefitting from this,” asked Mogotji.
The municipality reserved its comment on the matter saying the matter was sub judice. SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the matter was already before court and not up for public consumption. The appeal will be heard today.
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