How Gauteng lost R1bn on unfinished schools

Close to R1bn has been invested in upgrade projects for schools in Gauteng, but only two will be handed over — with others stalled or abandoned.

The province’s infrastructure department’s ability to deliver has been undermined by a financial crisis and more than 90 litigation cases worth about R2bn, with contingent liabilities estimated at R800m.

Of the two schools set to be handed over to the Gauteng education department when school reopens this week, one is a project that began a decade ago, and the other was meant to be completed and delivered five years ago.

This limited handover comes against a backdrop of stalled, abandoned and repeatedly delayed projects, some launched as far back as 2016, despite hundreds of millions of rand already paid to contractors.

The financial crisis has forced the department to establish a panel of “rescue contractors” to take over incomplete projects and to retain a law firm to deal with problematic service providers.

But the delays have left communities frustrated and pupils paying the price, as former community pillars have been reduced to temporary classrooms unsuitable for learning.

GRAPHIC BY RUBY-GAY TO GO HERE.

Schools left incomplete

According to figures seen by the Sunday Times, millions of rand have been spent on school construction projects that remain unfinished.

According to Gauteng infrastructure development MEC Jacob Mamabolo, contractor cash-flow problems are a key contributor to delays.

“These legal and financial exposures pose a major threat to the department’s operational stability and reputation.”

The failures have strained relationships with client departments, including the Gauteng education department, which has withdrawn several new school projects.

“Despite stringent due diligence before tenders are awarded, contractors’ ability to sustain healthy cash flows is often only exposed later in the projects. This contributes to cost overruns and missed deadlines, frustrating communities and client departments.”

He conceded that poor infrastructure governance was a major issue.

“We enter into contracts with clear timelines and conditions, but as a department we lack the capacity to manage those contracts properly. Timelines are not enforced.”

In the private sector, projects such as shopping malls are rarely postponed; yet, when it comes to schools, hospitals, and clinics, deadlines are repeatedly pushed back, he said.

“The department had brought in a law firm to strengthen consequence management against contractors, consulting engineers, and officials. There is mischief we are trying to resolve. Many contractors simply do not have the liquidity to meet their obligations,” he said.

The department has changed its approach to procurement to stop projects collapsing due to contractor cash-flow problems. It has established a panel of “rescue contractors” with sufficient liquidity to take over struggling projects.

“When a contractor is battling financially and cannot meet its obligations, we put the project into rescue. That is why we call them turnkey rescue contractors.”

These are contractors with at least R100m who are able to step in and rescue projects suffering financial and performance failure.

Mamabolo said the department launched a new infrastructure technology system in August 2025, which won the National Batho Pele and Innovation Award.

Infrastructure delivery is affected by multiple, long-standing and complex problems, and technology is being introduced to solve the problem.

“We have introduced an infrastructure technology ecosystem aimed at resolving deep-seated challenges affecting the delivery of infrastructure,” he said.

The digital platform — the Infrastructure Delivery Platform (IDEP) — has been designed to monitor projects from start to finish.

“It allows us to monitor contractors in real time, ensure payments are only made once work has been completed, and blacklist non-performing contractors who fail to meet service delivery standards,” Mamabolo said.

Contractors who repeatedly fail to perform would be blacklisted nationally.

“They will not work again in South Africa. We have spent a lot of money paying for work we were not sure had been done. This system is about restoring value for money.”

The department would no longer allow poorly performing projects to drag on for years.

“If a project is red-flagged for four consecutive weeks, meaning it has failed to deliver, we immediately begin termination processes. We no longer wait two years to terminate a contract.

“Once terminated, we appoint rescue contractors who must have at least R100m in their bank accounts,” he said.

In Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, residents have waited nearly five years for the reopening of Nancefield Primary School, a project intended to ease severe overcrowding in the area.

For years, pupils were taught in cramped container classrooms that became unbearably hot in summer and leaked during heavy rains.

When the Sunday Times visited the school this week, workers were cleaning the premises, and piles of bricks lay stacked near the gate, rare signs of activity at a site that has stood incomplete for years. Water was running in the temporary school yard.

Sophia Ndhlovu, 45, a community member, said residents were recently told the school would reopen in January.

“Construction started in 2019, but the site was hijacked. The contractor was killed, and everything stopped. We were told the project was initially around R100m.

“From 2020 to 2022, nothing happened because they were waiting for funds. Only last year did construction resume, and now they say it is finally finished,” she said.

The shortage of container classrooms meant there was never enough space to properly accommodate pupils.

Vandalised and abandoned

In Zola, Soweto, another school once seen as a community pillar now stands vandalised and stripped — with broken windows, missing fixtures and abandoned buildings.

Pupils have been relocated to another part of the township and rely on buses to get to school.

Nonhlanhla Kheswa, a parent, said pupils are left vulnerable when transport fails.

“If the bus leaves them, they have no choice but to walk. That exposes them to crime.”

She said the school began deteriorating after it was found to have been built on a wetland. This resulted in severe structural damage.

“Walls started collapsing. Learners had to rotate classes until the department decided a new school was needed.”

More than R100m has been spent with little to show for it.

“Three contractors were appointed and paid. The first two abandoned the site. Only the third one did any work,” she said.

The abandoned buildings soon became unsafe.

“Someone was found dead here. Community members started stripping the school, taking desks, ceilings and windows. We don’t know if construction will ever take place at this school.

“We were told that our children would only spend two years at another school, but it has been four years and nothing is being said. A church is now renting part of the school. There’s no electricity, and even the containers were stolen,” she said.

Expert caution

Prof Daniel Meyer, a regional and local economic development analyst from the University of Johannesburg, cautions that while the department’s technology initiative is a step in the right direction, it will not succeed on its own.

“The provincial administration does not have the required technical staff or capacity to properly oversee infrastructure projects and sign them off,” Meyer said.

“To effectively monitor projects, you need committed, highly skilled technical personnel. Technology alone will not fix the problem if the staff component is missing.”

He also warned that systemic corruption in procurement processes remains a risk.

“Contractors are often appointed through compromised tender processes. Technology will not have an impact if governance failures are not addressed,” he said.

The Gauteng education department did not respond to queries.

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