Summit addresses construction mafia's impact

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on Tuesday announced that a specialised police officer would be placed in his department to assist with unresolved cases linked to the construction mafia which has disrupted more than 180 projects worth R63billion since 2019.

Mchunu, Minister of Public Works, Dean Macpherson, his deputy Sihle Zikalala and KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli were some of the speakers at the National Construction Summit on Crime Free Construction Sites which was also attended by business leaders at Durban’s ICC on Tuesday.

Macpherson arranged the summit in response to the disruption of construction projects by the construction mafia who use tactics such as extortion, intimidation, violence and sabotage against contractors in both the public and private sector.

Mchunu urged business to report the cases so that they could be investigated.

He said that if people were afraid, they could open the case in another police station or part of the country.

He said if a case had been opened and there was little progress, the matter could be escalated in writing to a provincial commissioner.

“Our ministry has recruited a Warrant Officer from the SAPS so that there is a professional person who can assist us with processing complaints,” he said.

Mchunu said the SAPS was also implementing internal measures, including the finalisation of the organisational structure.

“The structure now indicates specialised investigative capacity so that we up the stakes in combating this particular crime in different units in the country,” Mchunu said.

He warned that those benefiting from activities while "sitting in posh suburbs and directing activities via a phone” would be key targets of the police.

Macpherson said the government would no longer be negotiating with criminals just to be able to build essential infrastructure.

“We are gathering here today in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, considered by many as ground zero for the so-called ‘construction mafia’ – to take a stand and say: Enough is enough. Let me be clear, this is not just another talk shop. Today we are taking action,” said Macpherson.

Ntuli said collective solutions were needed from the conference as the construction mafia had evolved since 2014.

“The current status seems to be a complex mix, including community activists, suspected hitmen from the transport industry and suspicious characters who are bent on turning this activity into a lucrative business on its own.”

Andile Zondi of the South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors said they represented contractors with the civil construction industry and said that between 2018 and 2022, their members reported 287 projects to the value of R51.16bn that had been disrupted across the country.

“There were 45 incidents in KZN and many of the sites were disrupted multiple times. The reality is that this is information we received from the larger members but the majority of the incidents have affected smaller contractors that do not have the resources.”

Matthew Horwill, Stefanutti Stocks regional managing director, who survived an attempted assassination by the construction mafia earlier this year, said the extortion gangs had progressed from rudimentary to more sophisticated methods.

“These entities have infiltrated client bodies, communities and have taken advantage of the contract participation roles that are legislated on Public Works contracts ... this makes it more difficult to unpack, challenge and solve,” he said.

THE MERCURY