Public works and infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson has welcomed the decision by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) to blacklist 40 contractors from doing business with the department and its entities.
Construction industry regulator CIDB has been blacklisting contractors since June last year, after only one company had been blacklisted since 2002.
Macpherson said the blacklisting would send a clear signal that the department was serious about acting against non-performing contractors.
The blacklisted contractors are now prohibited from bidding for tenders or being awarded work by the department.
Macpherson said this aligned with his vision to ensure the department was a professional and highly functional delivery unit, capable of providing high-quality economic infrastructure that would drive economic growth and create jobs.
“The move to blacklist these non-performing contractors is exactly what we promised South Africans when I took office — that those who underperform or engage in corruption will be held accountable and removed from the system.
“The CIDB’s action to blacklist these contractors means we have put our words into action and sent a clear message: the days of impunity are over,” he said.
He said the situation which had seen only one company blacklisted since 2002 before he took over was completely unacceptable in an environment where construction projects remained incomplete.
“It undermined trust in the state’s ability to act decisively. This is why we are turning over a new leaf by restoring accountability, cleaning up the industry and ensuring public money delivers quality infrastructure that communities can rely on,” he said.
He added that the department was also refining its own processes to ensure the blacklisting of non-performing companies happened more swiftly, and to recover money from contractors to safeguard public funds.
“Over the past year, we have worked to strengthen the department by filling key vacancies, introducing new accountability mechanisms and tightening our procurement processes.
“These 40 black listings are proof that our reforms are working — but we are not done yet. We are expediting our work to clean up the department and its entities to ensure that we can play a key role in building a better country for all South Africans,” he added.
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