Contractors from the Vhembe district have called for an immediate commission of inquiry to look into the process of the allocation of building tenders by the provincial government.

The contractors had a meeting with the MEC of Public Works, Mr George Phadagi, at the Tshedza guesthouse in Louis Trichardt a fortnight ago. During the meeting, the contractors said there were serious cases of corruption within the municipality in terms of the issuing of tenders and the provision of houses and school buildings. The contractors allegedly made several calls to the government and municipalities to inform them about the corruption regarding the awarding of contracts for the building of schools and RDP houses.

"It still remains a serious concern as taxpayers´ money is being used here. In many instances, where projects were given to the communities through municipalities, the money is not used appropriately or according to business specifications," angry contractors accused.

They said many of the tenders were given to relatives and friends of the councillors who wanted to benefit from the projects. They allege that many of the contractors did not have money to build the houses, and this is the reason why many of the people have not yet received their houses. The contractors pointed out that one contractor was awarded six or seven tenders at the same time, while others were not given even a single one. "We are fed up with corruption and nepotism in the provincial government and municipalities. Some of the corrupt officers demand money in exchange for tenders," they said.

Mr Phadagi was urged to investigate these allegations and he replied by saying that those officials who were corrupt or demanding money from contractors in return for get tenders had to leave now, because they would end up in jail. He said all the contractors who qualified had to be given tenders.

Phadagi concluded by saying that contractors should bring their proposals to the government. He said some of the contractors were always getting tenders, because they brought proposals to the relevant offices. The government also restricts state employees from doing business with government departments.