18 Aug 2026

Initially planned for completion by November 2025, the Losabanyana Primary School project in Kanye fell behind schedule, dealing a blow to plans for the school to open in January this year.

In an interview, Kanye District Council deputy council secretary Mr Masiela Mandoze revealed that the project, particularly classrooms had fallen behind schedule due to various reasons and that completion had now been moved to December.

Mr Mandoze indicated that the staff houses were nearing completion, currently at 97 per cent, whilst the educational facilities were at approximately 60 per cent completion stage.

He said the project, located at Mhiko Ward in Kanye, was awarded at a combined contract amount of P69 million and to date,  P44 million, had been paid to the contractors.

Mr Mandoze noted that the project remained within the cumulative contract sum, although one package had exceeded its original contract sum by 25 per cent due to variations encountered at the beginning of the project, including hard rock and challenging topography.

The school is fully-fledged comprising facilities that support education at elementary level, which among others included 22 double storey classroom blocks, 24 double storey staff houses, a staff room, a resource centre, a kitchen and a dining area, and four blocks of toilets, each comprising nine cubicles.

The project provides for external works including paved and covered walkways, an assembly area internal paved roads serving the staff houses, plumbing works and storm water reticulation.

The works have been packaged and awarded to two citizen contractors. Mr Mandoze said the main challenges encountered during the implementation of the project included discrepancies in the original technical documentation, which resulted in numerous variations.

He indicated that more than 85 per cent of the project site was rocky, resulting in additional time and costs overruns during substructure works.

In addition, the project encountered delayed payments to contractors due to the late disbursement of funds from the parent ministry as well as contractual disputes that had resulted in various court cases.

The project is anticipated to be completed on time for the school to open in January 2027, despite the fresh contractual challenges being experienced. ENDS