Construction mafia: how organised crime is holding South Africa’s construction sector hostage

Construction is the lifeblood of South Africa, a vital sector that houses many professionals and creates many jobs. This vital industry is being undermined by a vast network of decentralised illegal groups nicknamed “the construction mafia”.

By Duncan Nortier

Construction workers are the lifeblood of South Africa. They are facing a new threat in the form of organised crime.

A traditional mafia setup is centralized and relies on organized extortion and violence to coerce companies into operating with the gang’s vision and for its own benefit. The construction mafia operates in a similar manner, using extortion and violence to manipulate construction companies into “paying for security.” The illegal activities carried out by these groups are especially insidious when you consider that they exploit policies that are aimed at redress and economic transformation. The interpretation of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA) states that 30% of all tenders must go to designated groups to ensure economic inclusion, but the construction mafia will often show up at construction sites and demand that all 30% go to them. This undermines many of the goals that South Africa has set out to achieve towards a more equitable society. The mafia has also exploited longstanding social divisions where communities remain skeptical of construction projects. These groups will incite protests within the community and undermine community-led communication and participation. Law firm Cliffe Dekker and Hofmeyr hosted a podcast with director Sentebale Makara and candidate lawyer Thobeka Dhlamini from their construction and engineering sector about the construction mafia. Makara notes that it is difficult to identify the real members, as they often hide behind community organisations. “We see that the people who cause the physical disruption are not the ones we should be targeting, which makes it difficult to tackle the real perpetrators and these groups.” Like the “real” mafia, the construction mafia blurs the line between legitimate and illegal business, making it difficult for police to investigate. Legitimate companies are forced to pay these groups for protection, collusion and often holding the construction site for ransom. In areas with a high number of gangs, gang leaders also register their companies, giving the illegal activities an air of legitimacy. Now that these illegal activities have proven to be profitable – R63 billion according to a 2019 report – many of these groups are now protected by politicians who profit from their activities. This has led to problems in the construction industry: endless deadlines due to site closures, rising costs due to extortion and lower quality projects due to illegal groups acting as subcontractors.

Sentebale Makara, director of law firm Cliffe Dekker, and Hofmeyr presented a podcast in which they discussed the laws surrounding this organised crime

The place where it was built

The construction mafia sees what many unemployed youth and impoverished communities see. The construction industry is a great place to create employment and provide economic stability, in short, there is money to be made. The construction mafia undermines this and in effect takes away all economic opportunity from people who need it most.

The blurring of the public and private sectors, while ultimately beneficial, has left a gap for illegal activities that thrive on non-transparency. This has led to communities wanting to be involved in the process and calling for greater transparency, as the communities that benefit most from construction projects are the ones that suffer when it is caught. Organized crime has been on the rise in South Africa, with construction sites at its heart, and these groups are targeting the sector because of its fragile accountability and transparency. Addressing these concerns could help to quell this form of extortion.

The bizarre world of the construction mafia

Although similar to a fully functioning mafia, the construction mafia differs in one key area, they tend to be decentralized. This makes them harder to stop and more erratic. A recent news report highlights the bizarre reality of these groups, with the construction mafia becoming the victims of the violence they normally commit in a strange role reversal. Notable Mamelodi construction mafia group Boko Haram thought that arriving at a construction site in Bronkhorstspruit to disrupt the site and begin their extortion tactics was business as usual. Within minutes, the 5 gang members were abducted outside the site and tortured for 11 hours before finally being murdered and dumped in Cullinan. Some construction workers on the site recall, “They didn’t even have time to make their demands,” while others were seemingly happy with this outcome, as “This project has generated a lot of employment and disruption could cost us those jobs.” This vigilante attack on the gang led to the remaining members going underground, as they are unaware of what information has been revealed about the gang. This incident underscores the prevalence of these extortion groups and the growing frustration they bring.

Communities often take the law into their own hands, a possible explanation for what happened to the Bolo Haram gang

How to tackle the problem

The Inclusive Society of South Africa has outlined the impact and tactics that can be used to stop these groups in a comprehensive document. The methods they propose to stop such organised crime are in particular:

• Promoting transparent project involvement
• Tackling economic inequality
• Addressing Racial Equity
• Eradicate corruption
• Tackling organised crime broadly
• implementing police reforms
• Infrastructure development for inclusive growth
• Leadership and accountability at all levels

Makara of Cliffe Dekker and Hofmeyr lawyers says the best advice he can give is: “Tackling these groups starts with reporting them and, if possible, obtaining a High Court injunction.” He goes on to say: “While this is serious, it is not all doom and gloom, and there are steps that can be taken to tackle the phenomenon.” When asked what some of the best weapons against these groups were, he says that “video evidence goes a long way and is very useful in bringing justice.”