By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Sihle Zikalala says there had been arrests in connection with “construction mafia” syndicates countrywide.
Zikalala revealed this during his visit to KwaZulu-Natal, where he arrived to conduct an inspection on projects that have been blocked and delayed due to the “hijackings” and “disruptions”.
One of these is the Durban high court project, which is one of those that have experienced delays due to illegal occupation and the hijacking of the site by alleged criminals and gangs known as ‘construction mafia” that are extorting money from construction sites.
He said the disruptions have cost the KZN economy over R68 billion.
According to the reports received from the police, a total of 682 cases are being investigated by the organised crime investigations detective services.
To date the police have made 702 arrests. According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, the disruption and blockages of construction sites cost the economy over R68 billion before Covid-19 in 186 projects.
“The government, through the Ministry of Police, has tasked the organised crime investigations detective services, as well as the serious organised crime unit within the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations [Hawks] to look into this matter urgently.
A national forum has been established to coordinate the cases in all affected provinces. The focus has been on extortion-related crimes, attempted murder, common robbery, conspiracy to commit murder, incitement to public violence, contempt and contravention of court orders,” said Zikalala.
Zikalala said government had made some progress with curbing the trend of alleged construction hijackers known as “Amadela Ngokubona”.
He said when these projects are delayed or not delivered on time, this has major implications on meeting the needs and the constitutional rights of citizens.
Zikalala added that they have set a new bar ensuring that government projects are planned, executed on time and implemented within budget.