'Spaghetti' war pits Motswana against Chinese
Lebogang Mosikare | Friday September 21, 2018 14:33
Reineetse who is the sole director of Dry Landers (Pty) Ltd wants CRSG, which is wholly owned by China Railway Group Limited, whose major shareholder is the Chinese state-owned China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC), to pay him around P3,7 million for allegedly prematurely terminating his contract.
Dry Landers was sub-contracted by CRSG on July 25, 2015 to manufacture and install steel piles, boiler making, bolting, drilling and puncturing works at the Thapama Interchange Junction popularly known as the ‘Spaghetti’ road. The Spaghetti cost the State close to P1 billion (P979, 995,312.38) and was officially opened by former president, Ian Khama last year.
Narrating his ordeal, which at times was punctuated by some sobs before Justice Lot Moroka on Wednesday, Reineetse said that he signed a contract with CRSG and was told that the contract was supposed to be taken to the headquarters of the CRSG in China in order for some senior executives of the company to sign it. Reineetse further explained the copy of the contract he signed and was supposed to keep for himself and the one which was also signed by CRSG were both taken to China. He stated that in the interim, GRSG gave him a letter showing that he had indeed entered into a contract with them.
Asked by his attorney Gontse Simon why didn’t he annex the said contract, Reineetse responded: “I was told that the two copies of contract were taken to China for signing by the company executives, but I was given a letter which indicated the services I was to provide at the site as reflected in the contract”. The court further heard that Reineetse was given a one-and-half-year contract worth around P53 million, but was paid nothing after his contract was ostensibly terminated by CRSG for non-performance.
Reineetse added that everyday he signed a document detailing the services he had done on that particular day while the site manager signed the document on behalf of the principal contractor, CRSG.
Taking the court back, Reineetse told the court that CRSG did not provide him with mobilisation fees which prompted him to use his funds to kickstart the project with the hope that once CRSG paid him, he will replace the funds.
According to Reineetse, things took a nasty turn after three months following the arrival of a new site manager. “A new site manager arrived and told me that he was having a document he purported to be a contract that I entered into with CRSG… At that time I was expecting to be paid for services I had provided for the past three months since the material I was provided with by the defendant was also finished. The new site manager gave me the said contract, but after I perusing it, I discovered that it was different from the one I initially signed in many respects (rates, duration of contract and factors),” said Reineetse. The new site manager, Reineetse stated, told him that the contract was not different from the one taken to China that he had initially signed.
“He told me to append my signature on the contract. I declined and became emotional. I spoke to him in a loud voice, which attracted some of the 40 people I had employed to come near us to eavesdrop what I was discussing with the site manager… I was clear to my workers that I was having misunderstandings with the new guy who later called security to escort me and my employees out of the site,” said a sobbing Reineetse.
The new site manager then incited my employees to rebel against me telling them he would employ them.
The new site manager, Reineetse added, told him to later come to the site to collect his payment.
“…My life changed for the worst after my encounter with the new site manager. My workers took me to the magistrate court for failure to pay their wages. I even went to the office of former president ,Khama asking him to intervene so that I could be paid but I was chased by Khama’s aides in Gaborone before I could even relay my problems to Khama. I later sold some of my property to pay half of my workers,” said Reineetse.
Another bitter struggle that ensued in court between Reineetse and CRSG was the issue of the making of the First Eastern Column.
Although Reineetse claims to have manufactured the column, CRSG said that he was not telling the truth because that was not part of his contract.
He said: “Although I admit that the column is not stipulated as part of my job in the contract I entered into with the defendant, I was told to do it with the verbal promise that if I manage to do it, it would open opportunities for me to make other columns. I did as CRSG asked because I did not suspect anything fishy because I wanted to be given the chance to make other columns since they paid P2 million”. In cross-examination by the CRSG attorney Joanne Robinson, Reineetse refuted Robinson’s assertion that he was not supposed to make rings and the column. The contract according to Robinson clearly states that the main contractor, CRSG, is the one that is suppose to make the rings and column.
Robinson, who subjected Reineetse to serious grilling, also said that Reineetse has not brought any document before court countersigned by the engineer to show how much he should be paid as the contract stipulates. Reineetse also denied that assertion.
Reineetse said since he started offering his services to CRSG, he was only dealing with the site engineer, adding that he never dealt with any CRSG engineer at any point. Robinson then told Reineetse that none of the services that he claims to have offered were accepted because they were not countersigned by the engineer as per the dictates of the contract he entered into with the defendant.
To the surprise of the few people who were in court, Robinson also put it to Reineetse that he was not paid for the three months he alleges to have offered his services to CRSG
because the contract he entered into with CSRG was never agreed by both parties. “For three months you did nothing at the site, hence you were no paid,” said Robinson to which Reineetse vehemently disagreed.
Robinson also stated that Reineetse did not provide safety equipment for his workers at the site and fell short of safety standards, hence he was not allowed inside the site because he did not meet all safety requirements.
Reineetse still disagreed with what Robinson said, stating that it took him two days to acquire safety equipment for his employees after he signed the contract. At the end of cross-examining Reineetse, Robinson put it to Reineetse that his failure to bring any documentary evidence before court to support his claim rendered his claims void.
Robinson added that Reineetse’s failure to bring documentary evidence before court to support his claims showed that he was on a fishing expedition to extract sympathy from the court since it was for the third time that he brought the same matter before the High Court.
Moroka adjourned the trial for continuation on Thursday after Simon completed re-examining Reineetse.