Fearless mafia spreading across South Africa

South African residents and organisations nationwide are being targeted by construction mafias for speaking out and taking a stand against criminal activity.

This is according to Construction Education & Training Authority (CETA) chair, Thabo Masombuka, who spoke to eNCA following the gunning down of Chieftainess Nogcinile Mtirara of eMqhekezweni Great Place.

Mtirara was known for her outspoken stance against extortionists.

“People who stand up for the rights of communities and want to get rid of such elements are eliminated in such forms of simplicity,” he said.

“It talks again to the level of impunity within which criminals in the country operate. The bravity, the arrogance, and the sense of the lack of consequences that they have.”

He added that over the coming weeks, the Minister of Public Works will convene the Construction Summit, at which multidisciplinary stakeholders will share their ideas on how to rid the construction sector of the mafia.

Construction mafias emerged in South Africa in 2010 after the construction boom during the country’s preparation for the FIFA World Cup.

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson said his department is now cracking down on construction mafias, launching independent investigations into extortion cases at construction sites nationwide.

“It’s not something we take lightly, but we want to confront it head-on,” said Macpherson.

“I’ve said that there’s no room for negotiation. There’s no room for talks. We just need to get on with the job of building infrastructure across South Africa.”

As he has spoken out and taken a stance against construction mafias, the minister and other members of his department have been targeted with death threats.

“But you know, what we can’t do is go and hide in a corner just because they’re making these threats. We need to ensure that law enforcement meets these people head-on,” Macpherson said.

“That’s why I’ve said there’s no negotiating because the only negotiating that we should be doing is the length of prison sentences that they should be serving for perpetrating crimes against the state,” he continued.

“This is state money. These are state projects.”

He added that the construction sector is being held hostage by thugs and thieves and urged law enforcement to make a move to tackle construction mafias head-on.

However, this may be easier said than done. According to specialist investigator Mike Bolhuis, South African authorities are afraid of construction mafias.

Moreover, he believes there is high involvement of corrupt police officers in construction mafias. As a result, the South African Police Service (SAPS) is afraid of them.

“They do not get involved, and they do not stop and prevent this crime,” said Bolhuis.

“Today, it’s one of the most lucrative times committed in the country because it has so many authorities involved.”

He said crime only thrives in scenarios where authorities are involved. In the case of construction mafias, these authorities could be government, municipal, or SAPS officials.

The mafias effectively go to construction sites to extort money from contractors, subcontractors, and developers, using the premise of a legislative requirement that developers must subcontract 30% of public sector projects to local contractors.

“It’s become a situation where if something is to be built in an area, if they as a group are not used, they will make sure that those who oppose them are dealt with severely,” said Bolhuis.

“They do this and get away with this and can do this because there is no one to stop them.”

Construction mafias destroying South Africa’s fibre dreams

Fibre network operators (FNOs) like Vumatel face a major challenge in rolling out and maintaining their networks in areas where construction mafias operate.

Vumatel previously told MyBroadband that it liaises with community members for guidance and decides on rollout and maintenance approaches based on their feedback.

“Based on their feedback, we will engage with either the local police or security providers as appropriate,” it said, adding that it also employs security escorts.

However, Vumatel holding company Maziv’s COO, Dewald Booysen, earlier warned that security escorts aren’t guaranteed to be effective and can exacerbate the situation.

“We maintain ongoing dialogue with leaders in Khayelitsha and other communities to ensure that we collaborate effectively with them and prioritise the safety of our teams and the community,” said Booysen.

“Once we have received the necessary assurances, we deploy our teams, sometimes accompanied by additional security escorts, to carry out the required work.”

Link Africa’s chief sales and marketing officer, Mark O’Donoghue, revealed that the FNO spends R1 million monthly on security to protect its staff and property.

“When you mention the construction mafia, this is what we deal with daily,” said O’Donoghue.

“It’s gotten to the point where they’ve arrived at our offices with AK-47s, put staff in boardrooms and held them hostage so they can see our books to see where we’re rolling out and why we’re not using them.”

“You can’t use your own staff. You have to outsource to their staff,” he added.