'Illegal' company delays school

PATRICIA MAGANU
Staff Writer | Thursday January 17, 2008 00:00

 

Unik Construction started working at the college around March last year. 'About two months after the company had started they had to be removed from the school because the court said they were here illegally' he said.

Masebola says that it came to light that the company had not won the tender but instead another company called Buildswana was the rightful winner of the tender.

'When judgment came it ruled against Unik Construction but did not instruct Buildswana to go ahead with the tender and since June last year the project has not continued,' he said.

The two companies are in court fighting over the tender. Apparently an employee at the Department of Buildings and Engineering Services tampered with the tender document before handing it over to the director for a signature.

The P11, 000, 000 tender is now at a stand still after the court order. Masebola says that the two companies are now at loggerheads over the tender as each one claims to be the rightful winner.

Masebola said this is working against the institution because buildings were destroyed but everything is at a standstill.

'The company had already demolished the hostels so I was forced to give students off campus allowance so they could look for accommodation. Those are costs and the longer we wait on this tender the more it is going to cost. We will end up paying about three times the original amount of the tender,' he stated. All students are given a monthly allowance of P1, 900.

So far Masebola says he has met with the representatives from both firms and the department of buildings to try and negotiate the best way forward for both companies so they can go ahead with the tender.

'I had suggested that they go on with the tender and share the profit but they had other suggestions,' he added.

Masebola says he has since sent a proposal to the Teacher and Training Development (TTD) about a possible solution to the problem. He says that though at the end of the day the issue lies with the ministry the pressure is on him as the principal.

'We are dealing with two ministries and the Ministry of Education cannot do anything because the matter lies with the Ministry of Works and Transport,' he added.