Taxpayers Face R74m Bill After Bhisho Loses Wild Coast Road Battle

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.

The department was also ordered to pay interest at the applicable prime overdraft rate, compounded monthly, from June 5, 2024, until the amount is paid in full, as well as the contractor’s legal costs. The department’s potential financial exposure has since increased. Correspondence between the parties has raised a further R24.84 million, taking the amount in dispute to more than R74.3 million, before additional interest and legal costs are taken into account.

The department subsequently sought leave to appeal the judgment. However, Justice Malcolm John Lowe dismissed the application for leave to appeal in September, following an earlier order issued by the judge in April. The attempted appeal and the continued accumulation of interest have added to the department’s financial exposure. The contractor has now turned to enforcement proceedings, seeking to recover the money directly from the department’s bank accounts.

The potential attachment could compromise service delivery while also putting the department under financial strain, should the Sheriff succeed in executing the writ.

The Eastern Cape Legislature has also raised its concerns about the delays in the project. Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) portfolio chairperson, Tiphany Harmse urged the department to urgently appoint a new contractor. She directed the department to submit a comprehensive report on the project’s progress to the legislature watchdog.

The department told Scopa that its implementing agent, GAP Infrastructure Development had reviewed the project’s design and tender documentation before a new tender was advertised in November 2025.

The tender advert closed in January with the department indicating that procurement processes were expected to be completed by the end of May. However, the pace of the procurement process came under scrutiny with the department’s internal audit committee raising concerns about the length of time between the tender being advertised and a new contractor appointed.

Questions sent to Razz Civils and Plant Hire and the Gorogang Plant Hire joint venture, their owners, had not been answered by the time of publication.