A group of subcontractors from Rouxville in the Free State are facing mounting debts and the threat of litigation as they await payments from the main contractor, Matchaba Construction, for work completed on a major road project.
The subcontractors were hired for the project to repair the N6 route between Reddersburg and Aliwal North, which began in January 2024 and concluded in December. They now claim they are owed two months’ payment, a delay that has plunged their businesses into a financial crisis and affected more than 70 employees.
Describing the last few months as a “nightmare,” the subcontractors say they worked under unfair conditions and persevered to complete the project despite not being paid on time. The financial strain, however, has been severe.
“Frustrated and devastated,” one subcontractor said, “We must be paid even if their son did not pay them. But all those things did not happen up until the whole project ended.”
Another subcontractor echoed the sentiment, stating, “Now the only thing that I want to see [is] just Matchaba to give us our money… so that we can pay our employees salaries and then pay the depths that we are in because of Matchaba.”
The situation is particularly difficult for women in the industry, who say that while they welcome the work opportunities, exploitation is a serious setback.
“The late payments and no communication from the main contractor… took a very great toll on our companies,” said one woman subcontractor. “But regardless of that we still persevered to make sure that we remain on site. We do production, we deliver on the project… So this late payments they really have affected our companies and got us into depths.”
The financial domino effect has been devastating. The subcontracting companies now face litigation from their own employees, who have taken them to the labour court over unpaid wages. The crisis extends beyond business operations, impacting their ability to provide for their families.
“We can’t even pay like school fees, like transport for kids to go to school. We can’t even pay the insurance. We can’t even pay the tax,” one subcontractor explained. “Like now I’m non-compliant. I can’t even pay nothing because we have to do the returns. How we going to do the returns without money?”
When contacted for comment, a representative for Matchaba Construction shifted the blame, claiming their own payment delays are the root cause. “We also got the problem. We’re waiting for Sandro to pay and Sandro doesn’t pay us,” the representative said.
Pressed on the fact that the subcontractors have a contract directly with Matchaba, not with “Sandro,” the representative confirmed, “Yes. And I’ve got the contract with Sandro and when we work, Sandro pay us and then we pay the subcontractors, but we working for the engineers.”
Matchaba Construction claims they have taken the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL), referred to as “Sandro” in the call, to court over their own payment disputes. Efforts to reach SANRAL for a response on the matter were unsuccessful.