By Luvuyo Mjekula
Chaos reigned at the Ncame Street upgrade site on Thursday as angry project workers blockaded the Joza intersection demanding immediate payment.
A group of about 20 workers demonstrated, blocking the unfinished road paving site with burning tyres and other rubble, forcing visibly frustrated motorists to change routes.
For two months, the workers have not been paid their wages, says CLO Sinazo Ncube.
The project covers various wards in Joza and involves four contractors who employ a number of unemployed Makhanda residents.
“We have families to feed, some of us are breadwinners. Two months is a long time,” Ncube complained.
The project is already running behind schedule due to problems with the supply of materials and it is hoped that the latest payment debacle would not lead to further delays.
In a statement recently, Makana municipality reported that the Ncame Street upgrade is nearing completion, with the final section almost complete. “However, the project is running behind schedule due to a couple of challenges faced by local SMMEs, who are struggling to purchase paving blocks.”
The statement said the main challenge causing the delays was related to the supply of paving blocks from the side of the suppliers, due to high demand.
Ncube confirmed this. She said the project had come to a standstill because of problems with the supply of materials.
“But the materials have arrived, meaning there is money. Where is our money?”
She said attempts to seek assistance from the Makana Municipality were unsuccessful. “We went to the municipality and we were told the relevant people were not available as they were in a meeting for the rest of the day,” Ncube said.
In a remarkable scene at the site, an unidentified man said to be a consultant from Gqeberha, addressed the protesting workers, offering them R1 000 in cash to reopen the blockaded road while waiting for their salaries to be paid in the next week or so.
He refused to speak to Grocott’s Mail without the approval of the Makana Municipality.
According to the striking workers, the man is one of the project’s consultants. He assured the workers they would be paid next week.
The workers gave him an ultimatum – make sure we get paid by Wednesday next week or we will come back here and shut this site down again.
The workers told Grocott’s Mail the pain of not being paid for two months drove them to their actions.
“Unfortunately, we have inconvenienced motorists and members of the community. But we are in pain and we needed to get their attention,” said Ncube.
See Page 14 for more road rehabilitation projects in Makana Municipality.
