Westonaria, South Africa – A series of stalled school construction projects in South Africa’s Gauteng province is drawing scrutiny, highlighting the government’s struggle to complete vital infrastructure on time and within budget. The delays have left thousands of students learning in substandard, makeshift classrooms, casting a shadow over the country’s educational future.
Simunye Secondary School, a project now in its fifth year of construction, has become a symbol of these systemic issues. Originally budgeted at R124 million, the school’s construction has been marred by a primary contractor’s financial mismanagement and a cascade of disputes with subcontractors. The Gauteng MEC for education, Matome Chiloane, noted that despite years of work, the project was only 66% complete as of June.
The original contractor, Themane Management Consulting (TMC), has since seen parts of its responsibilities taken over by Quench Management Services. “We came here to financially assist when the original contractor, Themane, was struggling,” said Mpho Masete of Quench. He claimed that with their involvement, the project could be ready for students by late 2025.
However, the Department of Infrastructure Development tells a different story. Spokesperson Theo Nkonki stated that the principal contractor is still Themane, with Quench as a subcontractor. He maintained that the anticipated completion date remains December 2025 and that no supplementary funding will be needed, despite the project’s protracted timeline.
Similar delays are affecting other schools across the province. At Rust Ter Vaal Secondary School, a R45 million project that started in September 2024, completion stands at just 64%. The school’s governing body chairman, David Oliphant, pointed to late payments to small businesses and recent heavy rainfall as the main causes for the holdup.
While the government cites various reasons for the delays—from contractor underperformance to community disruptions and financial mismanagement—the tangible impact is on the more than 1,300 students at Simunye who continue to learn in cramped shipping containers, a stark reality that underscores the broader challenges facing South Africa’s public works sector.