A Decade and Millions of Rands Later, Eastern Cape Community Centre Still Incomplete

Construction of a multi-purpose centre in Tsomo started in January 2015. It is still unfinished.

Construction of a cultural, sports and community resource centre in the rural Eastern Cape town of Tsomo started in January 2015. It was meant to take nine months. A decade later, it remains unfinished. More than one construction company has been hired over the years and millions of rands have spent on it. After R11-million was spent, the first structure had to be demolished.

In December 2014, the provincial human settlements department appointed a contractor to create a 400-seater hall, performance stage, kitchen, sport fields, ablution blocks and office space for Home Affairs, health and social development departments and SASSA.

In May 2017, after the site had been abandoned for years, a new contractor took over, but also failed to deliver.

In December 2022, Quantum Leap Investment was appointed. At this stage there was R15-million budgeted to complete the project.

Nelly Dasheka, managing director of Quantum, said they could only work up to the end of 2024, when the scope of work changed.

Construction has not resumed since December 2024. Dasheka said crucial data was not available to continue construction. “We received the data a month ago,” she said. The company has re-priced the project and is currently engaging with the department on a way forward.

Tsomo community stakeholders forum chairperson Simamkele Qwele said, “We need this centre to be finished. We have a challenge with the lack of government offices in this town.”

The social development department is operating in an old prefab, but it was closed when GroundUp visited. GroundUp was told this was because staff found a snake on the premises in March. Questions to the department about why the office was still closed, months later, went unanswered.

The department of Home Affairs is sharing a dilapidated building with the agriculture department. Its office was also closed when we visited at noon on a Friday. A security guard said this was due to issues with water.

Mandilakhe Qina, of the Qina Foundation, which promotes beauty pageants in Tsomo, said, “We believe that finishing the multipurpose centre would be a game-changer for our town. It would give us the infrastructure needed to host various youth-focused activities, from sports and arts to educational workshops.”

Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlement spokesperson Yanga Funani did not respond to our questions. In March, Funani told us the project was 55% completed and was expected to be finished in December 2025.

Construction of a multi-purpose centre in Tsomo was meant to take nine months.

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