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CRACKS IN HOUSES NOT OUR FAULT - INYATSI

07/07/2022 08:59:00 Khulile Thwala

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LOBAMBA - Inyatsi Construction (PTY) LTD has disputed that the issue of cracks in the houses of Sikhuphe residents is the company’s fault.

This was stated in the report of the Select Committee investigating the impasse between government, Malindza community and the contractor. The contractor is Inyatsi, which was responsible for the blasting at the quarry mine in the area. The report was tabled yesterday in the House of Assembly. This follows a request from Lobamba Member of Parliament (MP) Allen Stewart in a previous sitting, for the committee to furnish the House with the report on the matter.

The Select Committee comprised of eight MPs, including Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo, Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini, Manzini South MP Thandi Nxumalo, MP Sandla Fakudze, Siphocosini MP Mduduzi Matsebula, MP Strydom Mpanza, Dvokodvweni MP Mduduzi Magagula and Speaker Petros Mavimbela. According to the report, Inyatsi stated that already, they had lost over E26 million due to the lockdown of their equipment by residents last year and they had deliberately avoided going to court because they wanted this matter to be fully addressed and resolved since they believed that they were not at fault.

Contention

“It was their contention that the issue of cracks in the houses was much older than their arrival in the area to do blasting,” read in part the Select Committee’s report. On realising that the officers delegated by Inyatsi had not said anything about the E1 million ex-gratia for the Malindza residents that their MD had offered, the committee on its last day at Simunye resorted to have a teleconference with the MD Derrick Shiba. He told the Committee that as the top management they decided against the idea. Firstly, he said their kind gesture will be misinterpreted like they had a case to answer and that the meagre amount will be taken as an insult to the people. Secondly, they felt that they had accumulated huge amounts of debt due to losses incurred.

“The Inyatsi Construction Executive informed the committee that the impasse had greatly affected their operations, as they could not access some of their equipment which they needed for daily operations. When the committee members questioned them about the Consultant Report, they informed the committee that they got to know about the report in November, 2021,” stated the committee in its report. The Select Committee further reported that when Inyatsi was questioned on whether they were consulted during the evaluation exercise by the consultant who compiled the Consultant Report, the contractor responded to the negative.

Evaluation

Worth noting is that the Consultant Report which had done the evaluation exercise on the site had concluded that Inyatsi should compensate the Sikhuphe residents an amount of E46 million while the Ministry of Economic Planning and Urban Development should pay E6 million. However, Inyatsi has been unwilling to make this payment. The report also stated that the Ministry of Economic Planning budgeted E120 million in the 2022/23 financial year to carry out the exercise of compensating and reallocating the affected families. “When questioned why they were not willing to pay the E46 million as reflected in the report, they said having received the report a month ago (November 2021), it was unclear how the consultant could have arrived to such an alarming figure having not consulted them during his evaluation exercise and furthermore, the consultant has no qualifications to do this type of job,” further read the report.

According Shiba previously offered E1 million ex-gratia for the Malindza residents, however, the executive of Inyatsi, allegedly decided against this. The committee stated that they found that the residents had been misinformed that Parliament had adopted the Consultant Report and therefore it was equally perceived to be guilty of inaction and ought to be enjoined in the matter together with the minister. “That falsehood was repeated even in the presence of the committee by the residents’ lawyer, Bongani ‘Bhanyaza’ Mdluli.

Trust

"He was called to order. The affected Malindza families had lost faith and trust in government because of unfulfilled promises over many years. Out of frustration, they resorted to block the entrance/exit point of the quarry by converting that space into their temporary residence,” stated the findings. The committee further reported that the chiefdom in the area had also lost control of the situation since the residents remained suspect of them also. “The consultant’s report that conducted the evaluation exercise on the damaged structures was not acceptable to most of the stakeholders interviewed citing lack of expertise. Inyatsi Construction as the contractor on the quarry site was never consulted during the evaluation exercise. It also had a low opinion of the report. The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development never shared the Consultant Report with Inyatsi in good time,” stated the findings in the report.

It was also stated that based on the residents’ submissions, it became unclear who exactly should take the blame for the cracks and defects for the residents’ houses because many revealed that the whole problem began when the airport, including the runway were still under construction at a time when blasting was happening frequently. “The families that had to be relocated having been affected by the arrival and construction of Sikhuphe Airport have been neglected for too long and it is unacceptable,” it was further reported.