Darren Parker | April 11, 2025
Over 745 horror cases have been reported, 240 arrests have been made, and the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) held a construction summit on crime-free construction sites last November, with key officials signing the Durban Declaration pledging to tackle crime in the sector, resulting in the arrests of over 745 horror cases being made, and the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure revealed DEAN Macherson.
“We are cracking down on the crimes that have plagued the sector. The so-called construction mafia has been operating with immunity because it's too long.
McPherson said the DPWI worked closely with South African Police (SAPS), the National Treasury and the Construction Industry Development Board to ensure that construction mafia criminals are booked.
He criticizes existing government procurement policies that require 30% of certain public sector contracts, particularly in construction and infrastructure projects, and is subcontracted to designated groups such as blacks, medium-sized businesses, youth, women, people with disabilities, and cooperatives.
This policy coincides with the broader black economic empowerment goals and is implemented through government procurement regulations, resulting in the regulation of the Priority Procurement Policy Framework Act, particularly amendments in 2017.
MacPherson said the current structure of this 30% requirement led to the criminal syndicate incorrectly creating an entry point for leveraging the system.
Syndicates use threats or violence to assert this 30% subcontracting opportunity, thereby ousting legal black-owned businesses and force the path to the project under the guise of causing confusion and terror at construction sites.
He praised the Black Business Council (BBCBE) for realizing that, unless 30% have been rebuilt or better regulated, it also serves as a loophole for these crime elements, rather than uplifting real black-owned businesses as intended.
“After all, these mafia costumes are the most suffering black-owned companies that have been forced and violently eliminated from the site. For this purpose, the way 30% has been set aside is structured.
“We must return to the first principles so that true inclusion and participation is achieved, not only to pay back those with the biggest guns,” McPherson said.
He said last week, construction company WBHO informed him that the actions taken by DPWI and SAPS to protect the site had reduced construction times by 80% year-on-year.
“Our work is rewarding. We will soon be publishing proposals for a national promotion framework to institutionalize a single model of social promotion to ensure a unified approach to working with communities and local businesses to replicate the successes we saw in (some) counties,” added McPherson.
“Disclaimer – the views and opinions expressed in this article are the views of the author and are not necessarily those of the Bee Room.”
