Gauteng Delegation Pins Down August Deadlines for Three Stalled School and Service Project

Barcelona Primary School in Daveyton has a new contractor selection underway, with bid evaluation completed on 12 August 2026 and an appointment targeted for 28 August. That deadline is one of several concrete commitments the Gauteng delegation of the National Council of Provinces extracted from government officials during Wednesday’s oversight visits to three stalled infrastructure projects across the province.

The visits, conducted under the NCOP’s 2026 Provincial Week programme, exposed a consistent pattern: construction stalls, contractor failures, and promises made at previous oversight engagements that had not been kept.

At Barcelona Primary School, the original contractor was terminated for poor performance. The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and COGTA confirmed that a new procurement process is now in progress. The delegation pressed for strict timelines and demanded consequences where wrongdoing is found. Members also sought clarity on the financial impact of the termination and called for measures to recover any amounts owed to government. MEC Jacob Mamabolo committed to providing a detailed implementation plan and completion timelines within 14 days.

The picture at Semphato Secondary School in Soshanguve was no better. Construction delays have persisted, and the delegation found discrepancies between reported progress and actual work on the ground. Contractor terminations and reinstatements drew scrutiny, as did questions about project spending and the absence of tangible progress since the last oversight visit. Learners are still using temporary classrooms and ablution facilities, despite earlier undertakings to address those conditions.

The delegation requested separate detailed written reports from both the infrastructure department and the provincial education department within 14 working days. The infrastructure report must address project status, the terminated contractor, consequence-management measures, ongoing investigations, and clear completion timelines. Where investigations reveal possible criminal conduct linked to breaches of contractual obligations, the delegation called on the department to consider opening criminal cases. The education department must report separately on the state of temporary learning and sanitation facilities, required interventions, and remediation timeframes.

Meanwhile, the Women Living Monument in Pretoria presented a different failure of delivery. The facility remains non-operational despite previous commitments to complete outstanding requirements, including occupancy-related certification that officials had pledged to obtain on the day of an earlier oversight engagement. The responsible municipal official was not present to account for the outstanding certification. The Department of Infrastructure Development and the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation undertook to conclude outstanding processes and officially open the monument by the end of August 2026.

Across all three sites, the delegation identified the same recurring weaknesses: project delays, contractor performance failures, procurement and supply-chain problems, inadequate consequence management, and insufficient protection of public funds.

Gauteng Provincial Whip and delegation leader Jane Mananiso was direct about what the visits revealed. “Oversight cannot simply be about visiting projects, listening to explanations and then moving on. Our responsibility is to follow through on commitments made to Parliament and to the communities we represent. Where projects are delayed, there must be clear corrective measures, accountability and realistic timelines. Where public resources have been compromised, there must be consequence management,” she said.

The delegation will assess the commitments made during the visits as part of its provincial debriefing. Whether the 14-day reporting deadlines and the end-of-August targets for the monument hold will be the first test of whether this round of oversight produces outcomes different from the ones it was called to correct.