Contractors fearful of being blacklisted
Mpho Mokwape | Tuesday May 31, 2016 15:26
A member of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) and Francistown West Member of Parliament (MP), Ignatius Moswaane recently said government was often quick to blame local contractors for poor service delivery and work not finished on time without introspecting first.
Speaking during the appearance of Ministry of Agriculture, Moswaane explained that contractors are often owed over a long period of time due to ministries being reluctant to release funds even after the work has been completed.
“Contractors are often taken back and forth when they demand payment for work done by tender administrators and sometimes complaining to the higher authority can only mean they pay a heavy price for that,” he said.
He pointed out that corruption was at its peak therefore contractors sometimes are even afraid to report or complain to the permanent secretary because they are afraid that they will be blacklisted to never get another tender in that ministry.
Selebi-Phikwe West MP and PAC member, Dithapelo Keorapetse also agreed with Moswaane arguing that even those who take the litigation route often find themselves being subjected to being blacklisted.
Keorapetse said it was a big problem that contractors are often left begging to be paid for work done while ministries sit on the budget and then come to PAC and report that they have more unused funds. “I have come across many contractors who often cry about the same problem over and over while it’s just a matter of releasing the already budgeted funds and signing a cheque for payment,” he said. Both MP’s were responding to the ministry’s executive summary by permanent secretary Boipelelo Khumomatlhare that indicated that the ministry had unused funds.
Khumomatlhare had explained that the funds are often those for contractors who were not yet paid for service delivery.