Contractor hot under collar over non-payment

The non-payment of invoices submitted for work done within the prescribed 30 days of receipt was recently highlighted as a major concern by the Executive Council (Exco) as it was indicated that this has a negative impact on service providers.
Despite the pronouncement by Limpopo’s highest ruling body, government departments and municipalities are still not adhering to the rule. At the recent Post Exco presser, it was outlined that a report presented by Provincial Treasury for April 2019/20 financial year revealed that a cumulative total of 505 invoices older than 30 days had not yet been paid by the departments of Education which failed to pay 45 invoices, Health accounts for 381 unpaid invoices, Transport for 64 and Sport, Arts and Culture for 15 invoices. It was further reported that the council has instructed all affected departments to take corrective measures against the responsible officials.
Amos Buthane, owner of Kgaogelo Kae-Kae points a finger at Fetakgomo-Tubatse Local Municipality for its alleged non-payment of an invoice exceeding a million Rand. Buthane told Polokwane Observer in an interview that the municipality owed his company R934 000 which due to retention has increased to over R1m. He explained that payment has been overdue for more than a year since his company completed a project to replace wooden utility poles with steel ones in Mamogolo village in Fetakgomo-Tubatse. He stated that he was appointed in August 2017 to carry out a project amounting to R3,9 million which continued until June the following year.
According to Buthane, the project had to be completed within three months but his company was delayed by the non-payment of monthly invoices. He further alleged that he only received R2,4 million from the municipality and he has been sent from pillar to post when requesting the remaining payment.
The municipality seemingly does not have enough money to pay Kgaogelo Kae-Kae the remaining amount as Buthane was allegedly told that the money had been invested with VBS Mutual Bank.
“After struggling with the payment, I approached the Limpopo High Court for legal intervention on 20 June this year and the municipality was ordered to pay me within 15 days which they failed to do. The municipality only paid my monthly invoices when pressured because I used to abandon the project to force them to pay. In October last year they told me that the money was invested with VBS Mutual Bank. The official apparently responsible for payment of invoices recently told me that he had not been at work for over two months but that has nothing to do with me,” Buthane stressed and concluded by saying all he wanted was his hard earned money and nothing else.
At the time of going to print, Fetakgomo-Tubatse Local Municipality Spokesperson Ngoato Rachidi was unavailable for comment as his cell phone rang unanswered.

Story: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za