Unpaid subcontractors temporarily lock site office gates

PRAKTISEER

There are fears the Praktiseer Shushumela internal road project might not be completed within its estimated period of August 2026, this is due to the project disturbances being reported at the site.

Sekhukhune Times has learnt that a group of five sub-contractors hired by Bothlabatsatsi Group to assist to erect the road locked the gates at Bothlabatsatsi Site office on May 11, crying foul over non-payments.

Due to the payment delays, the local sub-contractors said they were left with no choice but to close the site offices.

The SMMEs alleged they are owed monies for the past six months. “We have submitted invoices and we were advised that payments would be processed within 30-day period but nothing was paid,” said the sub-contractors.
They said no formal written communication was issued explaining the payment delays. “No written reasons for withholding the payment were provided and multiple follow ups failed to yield meaningful or satisfactory responses.”

This publication is in possession of a letter titled: ‘Memorandum of grievances and formal request for urgent intervention regarding non- payment of appointed local SMMEs”.

The letter is from the sub-contractors and is addressed to the Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality’s Municipal manager MJ Makgata, municipal engineers, managing director of Bothlabatsatsi Group, the PSC, social facilitator and other stakeholders working on the Shushumela project.

In the letter, the SMMEs are seeking one thing, ‘their payments for the service rendered at the project’.

 This publication spoke to one of the Bothlabatsatsi Site managers at the project, who indicated that his company does not have any financial challenges and the payment delays were just a misunderstanding and lack of communication.

“The sub contractors’ payments delays were caused by the change of their rates. We had a certain agreement of their rates when they were appointed, but after they consulted with other parties, they invoiced with different rates, which was not those we agreed on,” said the site manager Thabang Mokgalaka.

On May 18, both parties confirmed that they were all back at work to resume the project.

The recent disturbances are not the first, on this project, in November 2025, Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality’s mayor Eddie Maila appealed to contractors to execute transparency and fairness in subcontracting processes.

The appeal was made after local SMMEs raised concerns over the lack of procurement opportunities at the project.