Taxpayers Face R74m Bill After Bhisho Loses Wild Coast Road Battle
By Bhongo Jacob
16 September 2026 · 3 min read
MEC for Transport Xolile Nqata's department has to fork out R74m after losing a bruising court case recently.
As if that was not enough, the Eastern Cape Transport could have its bank account attached after losing its bid to appeal a court ruling in a long-running dispute over a stalled R546m road project.
Taxpayers will have to fork out more than R74 million after the Eastern Cape Department of Transport lost a court case against a local business over the termination of a major road construction contract on the Wild Coast.
The legal blow has now paved the way for the business, Razz Civils and Plant Hire (Pty) Ltd / Gorogang Plant Hire CC Joint Venture, to try and recoup the money by attaching the department’s bank account. The department now faces potential attachment of its funds after its leave to appeal application was dismissed by the Johannesburg High Court, dealing Bhisho a blow.
This comes after a long-running legal battle between the department and the joint venture over the termination of the R546 million road construction project from the R61 in Ntlaza to Hluleka Nature Reserve. The project, which has stalled for years, was intended to improve access to healthcare facilities and support tourism development in the area.
Residents from scores of villages that will benefit from the tarred road previously brought the busy R61 road between Mthatha and Port St John’s to a standstill, protesting against the lack of progress of the project. The High Court found against the department in the dispute, with the contractor subsequently taking steps to enforce the judgment. According to court documents seen by The Coastal, the contractor obtained a writ of execution against bank accounts held by the department at Standard Bank’s Johannesburg offices.
In an urgent instruction letter dated September 9, 2026, Tiefenthaler Attorneys Inc, instructed the Johannesburg Central High Court Sheriff to execute the writ and recover money owed under the court order.
Eastern Cape Transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose, said they would only comment after studying the judgment .
“Our legal team has a couple of days to study the judgment and the moment a decision is taken, we will definitely communicate it with you. We are still utilising the time available to us to go through the judgment,” he said.
The legal dispute escalated after the High Court ordered the department to comply with obligations arising from an adjudicator’s decision and to pay the contractor R49,517,982.58.
