TWENTY-ONE sub-contractors, who had been at loggerheads with the Bakgaga Community Trust over payment for assisting in the construction of a multi-million rand mall in Limpopo, will finally be paid this week.

The sub-contractors will be paid after McCormick Property Developers agreed to provide R100000 to be shared equally among them.

The money will be paid by the end of the week.

The sub-contractors took part in the construction of Maake Plaza in Tzaneen.

McCormick also made available R63000, from which each contractor will get R3000.

This money was allegedly owed to the sub-contractors even before completion of the project.

The contractors were selected by the Bakgaga Community Trust to assist McCormick in building the mall last year. There was apparently an arrangement that they would get paid monthly for about four months.

Instead they only received R10000 for their "company certificates".

Speaking during a meeting at the weekend, which led to the sub-contractors being paid, McCormick chief executive Jayson McCormick said: "I would like the sub-contractors to be happy. They have worked very hard. Some of them threatened to destroy the mall if they were not paid what was due to them."

He also expressed concern at the way the Bakgaga Community Trust had handled the matter.

The sub-contractors were happy that they would finally been paid. They also slammed the Bakgaga Community Trust for the delay.