Parliament Flags Loophole: Fired Contractors Can Rebid for Mpumalanga Work

Mpumalanga’s permanent delegates to the National Council of Provinces have identified a systemic gap in how the province holds contractors accountable: termination ends a contract, but it does not prevent a failed contractor from winning work elsewhere.

The accountability question came into sharp focus during oversight visits to infrastructure sites in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality on 17 August 2026. The delegation assessed two projects and found outcomes that could not have been more different. The Mashishing Waste Water Treatment Plant, which stood at 40 per cent completion during the NCOP’s previous visit in 2024, has since been finished and brought into operation after the original contractor was terminated. The sewer line project, by contrast, showed no advancement whatsoever since the 2024 inspection.

That contrast is the crux of the delegation’s concern.

While provincial government officials moved to terminate the sewer line contractor for non-delivery, NCOP members argue that termination alone is insufficient. The delegation is recommending that the provincial Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs pursue formal blacklisting through the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), a regulatory mechanism designed to bar contractors with poor track records from securing future public work.

Ms Sylvia Nxumalo, leader of the Mpumalanga delegation in the NCOP, was direct about what the oversight visit revealed. “We welcome the fact that there has been progress at the waste water treatment plant and it is now in operation. However, at the sewer line we all witnessed with the contractor and the department that nothing has happened since 2024. The department must come up with a plan to make sure this work is completed by the end of the year,” she said.

The sewer line contractor has exhibited a pattern of irregular site presence, disappearing and reappearing without explanation. When confronted during the visit, the contractor attributed the stalled project to geotechnical obstacles, specifically the discovery of hard rock and underground water requiring unplanned mitigation. The delegation did not accept this as sufficient justification for the extended delay and the absence of visible progress.

The delegation’s position rests on a clear governance principle: institutional rules and legislative frameworks governing contractor performance must be enforced consistently and comprehensively. NCOP members stressed that when contractors mismanage funds, deliver poor workmanship, or fail to complete contracted work, consequences must extend beyond individual project termination to include professional blacklisting. Such measures, they argued, protect the integrity of future projects and prevent what they described as “rogue behaviour” from recurring across the province.

The Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs has initiated a termination process for the underperforming sewer line contractor, with finalisation expected before the end of August 2026. The department’s responsiveness to the delegation’s concerns was noted. The NCOP, however, made clear that termination must be followed by formal CIDB blacklisting to ensure compliance with established regulatory standards. One without the other, in the delegation’s view, leaves the accountability framework incomplete.

The delegation’s findings are documented in a media statement issued on behalf of Ms Nxumalo by the Parliamentary Communication Services, available at https://www.parliament.gov.za/press-releases/media-statement-mpumalanga-ncop-delegation-recommends-blacklisting-rogue-contractors.

Meanwhile, the oversight work extended into a second day. On 18 August 2026, the delegation conducted site visits to assess the R36 Lydenburg Bambi Road and R37 Lydenburg-Burgersfort Road, both SANRAL projects, and engaged with the Department of Health regarding the refurbishment of Lydenburg Hospital. These visits form part of the follow-up Provincial Week assessment, which tracks implementation progress since the NCOP’s 2024 provincial oversight cycle.

Whether the CIDB blacklisting recommendation translates into formal regulatory action, and how quickly the department moves beyond termination to enforce it, will determine whether the accountability gap the delegation identified is actually closed.