SA Affordable Housing January - February 2019 // Issue: 74 | Page 10

NEWS
Cabinet to address
construction mafia issue
Protesting or raiding using violence and intimidation on
construction sites has been raised at cabinet level, according to
Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi.
Violence is linked to people who had lost tenders.
A
controversial topic in construction this year involved
business forums – or so-called ‘construction mafia’ –
that invaded KwaZulu-Natal construction sites and
threatened shutdowns if their demands weren’t met. This
practice has also spread to other provinces.
Minister Thulas Nxesi explains that often these protests
are linked to people who had lost tenders in the bidding
process and therefore hired people to stage protests at
construction sites.
The move follows increasing reports of
attacks, threats and intimidation directed
towards builders and foremen on sites in
and around Durban and now in Gauteng.
“This issue is of grave concern to the government and the
industry because it takes bread away from the tables of the
very people who build the economy and our industry – the
contractors – while also robbing taxpayers of desperately
needed social and economic development by inflating the
cost of infrastructure,” he says.
The move follows increasing reports of attacks, threats
and intimidation directed towards builders and foremen on
sites in and around Durban and now in Gauteng. IOL online
8
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2019
reported the story of foreman Derrick Ndlovu who is forced
to carry a gun to work after he was assaulted by a group
who demanded, “30% of the work on this contract,” and
threatened that if they didn’t get it, they would, “have our
own way to deal with matters.”
Ndlovu had been physically beaten with a metal pole
and was followed home. Too afraid to sleep at his house,
he and his family moved to a hotel where they were also
followed. The group also sent threatening SMSes to
his cellphone.
Calvin Wright, a director of Stefcon Projects, reportedly
said he had tried to intervene and asked the men the
purpose of the assault on his site manager; they then
threatened Wright saying they would close down his sites
unless he gave them the work they wanted.
Wright believes the group had informers on each
construction site.
“The group claimed we hired workers from other
countries and did not employ people from the local
community. The Department of Labour has since done an
inspection and their allegations were proven wrong. The
group said I should pay them the money instead of hiring
armed guards and they would stop intimidating and
threatening me on site,” Wright says.
Nxesi says government recognises the problem and
believes there is no place for criminality in the industry.
www.saaffordablehousing.co.za