Suppliers of building material say they are now being targeted by the so-called construction mafias, this emerged at the three-day Construction and Built Industry Stakeholder Engagement Forum in Midrand.
Some cement suppliers say the ‘construction mafias’ often force them to cut their prices so that they can buy at a discount.
Public Works Minister Sihle Zikalala told delegates at the gathering that the government was making strides to clamp down on construction mafias.
Government to take action against “Construction Mafias”:
Construction mafia is said to be an illegal occupation and the hijacking of a building site by criminals and gangs, demanding a share of the project from a construction company. It does however appear that the activity has now added a new dimension – as the mafias need building supplies to complete the projects as well.
Tiger Build Group’s Grace Mabogo says, “Cement is really down because of construction, it’s not happening the way it used to be, we are just waiting for the government to maybe release some of the infrastructure they have on their side.”
“The mafias are really really existing because I am a black person, they would want us to cut prices of cement but what about my employees that are there…,” adds Mabogo.
The rise and operations of the construction mafia:
Protection against mafias
Emerging contractors say they feel hard done by. From the little income they generate, they now have to pay extra to beef up security to protect against the mafias.
Founder of Township Events Business Council Bheki Twala says, “We need to really zoom into that, what do we mean about construction mafias because when you look at all the projects done by the private sector you don’t find that but why is it fine in the government activities. What is important that we see as a challenge is a proper stakeholder engagement, when the project is about to start we need to engage the community and the relevant stakeholders from the beginning.”
The construction industry has been regarded as a broad built environment sector, central to the process of economic and social development. But the prevalence of the construction mafia syndicates in some parts of the country, have been cited as among the challenges that have slowed the industry down.
President of National African Federation for the Building Industry, Aubrey Tshalata says, “The construction industry is the backbone of the South African economy. We build schools, hospitals, road networks, we build water infrastructure, we build prisons, we are responsible for universities, for colleges, we build houses where our people live, we build cities and towns so this is a critical industry around the world and very critical for the growth of the South African economy.”
Now stakeholders want concrete interventions that would see companies protected and the economy reap the benefits of the construction sector.
Tshalata says, “We’ve seen elements of criminality creeping into our sector but under the leaderships of Minister Zikalala, Minister Bheki Cele and President Cyril Ramaphosa. We are beginning to see coordinated efforts to try and bring stability and peace into this particular sector and we hope that the issue of the construction mafia will become something of the past and that this industry will work in accordance with the rules, regulations and procedures and all of us will follow and grow this industry accordingly.”
Zikalala has assured role-players in the sector that the government has measures to stop the construction mafias. He says over 700 arrests in connection with construction mafia syndicates have been affected countrywide.
Police making inroads in fighting Construction mafia:
Commitments from public, private sectors
The disruption of and blockages of construction sites cost the economy over R68 billion before the pandemic in 186 projects. Working with the minister of police, the Government has established organised crime investigation detective services to deal with construction mafia.
Currently there are 682 cases reported and this relates to extortion. Police have made 702 arrests but what we want is to see prosecution and people being sentenced.
Government and construction organisations also want a prompt resuscitation of the country’s railway infrastructure, best practices to be adhered to at municipalities and the use of new technology to transform the sector.
Law enforcement authorities hot on the heels of those identified as part of the construction mafia as the government works with the sector to safeguard the country’s construction economy. Government also announced support through the department of public works, where there’ve been calls for commitments from both the public and private sectors towards doing construction business differently.
