Construction is the lifeblood of South Africa, a pivotal sector that houses many professionals- creating many jobs. This critical industry is undercut by a vast network of decentralised illicit groups who have been named, “the construction mafia.”

By Duncan Nortier

A traditional mafia set-up is centralised and revolves around organised extortion and violence to coerce businesses into operating with the vision of the gang and for its benefit. The construction mafia operates similarly by using extortion and violence to manipulate construction businesses into “paying for security.”

The illegal activities employed by these groups are especially insidious when one considers they exploit policies aimed at redress and economic transformation. The interpretation of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA) says that 30% of all procurement must go to designated groups to ensure economic inclusion but the Construction Mafia will often show up on-site demanding all 30% go them. This undermines many of the goals set forward by South Africa in its path towards a more equitable society.

The mafia also exploited longstanding social divides where communities remain sceptical of construction projects. These groups will stir up protests within the community undermining community-led communication and participation.

Law firm Cliffe Dekker and Hofmeyr hosted a podcast with Director, Sentebale Makara and Candidate Attorney, Thobeka Dhlamini from their construction and engineering sector about the construction mafia. Makara notes that the identification of the actual members is difficult as they often hide behind community organisations, “we find that the people doing the physical disrupting are not the ones we should be focusing on which makes going after the real perpetrators and these groups difficult.”

Just like the “real” mafia, the construction mafia blurs the lines between legitimate and illegitimate business making police investigation difficult. Legitimate businesses will be coerced into paying these groups for protection, collusion, and often holding the construction site as ransom. In gang-heavy areas, gang leaders will also register their businesses giving the illegal activity a veneer of legitimacy.

With these illegal activities proving profitable – R63 billion according to a 2019 report – many of these groups are now protected by politicians who gain from their activities.

This has led the construction sector into dark waters, never-ending timelines due to site shutdowns, expanding costs due to extortion, and lower-quality projects due to illegal groups acting as subcontractors.

The site on which it is built

The construction mafia sees what many unemployed youths and impoverished communities see. The construction sector is a great space for creating employment and providing economic stability, in short, there is money to be made. The construction mafia undermines this, in effect removing any economic opportunities from people who desperately need it.

The blurring between 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 included in the process and calls for more transparency as the communities that stand to benefit the most from construction projects are the ones who suffer when it has been captured. Organised crime has been growing in South Africa with construction sites at its centre and these groups target the sector for its vulnerable accountability and transparency. Addressing these concerns could help quell this form of extortion.

The bizarre world of the construction mafia

While similar to a fully functional mafia, the construction mafia differs in one key area, they are usually decentralised. This makes them both harder to stop and more erratic.

A recent news story highlights the bizarre reality of these groups, where in a strange role reversal the construction mafia became the victim of the violence they usually perpetrate.

Notable Mamelodi construction mafia group Boko Haram thought that arriving on a construction site in Bronkhorstspruit to disrupt the site and begin their extortion tactics was business as usual. Within a few minutes, the 5 gang members were kidnapped off-site, and tortured for 11 hours before eventually being murdered and dumped in Cullinan.

Some construction workers on-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 disruptions could cost us that employment.”

This vigilante attack on the gang led the remaining members to go into hiding as they do not know what information was revealed about the gang.

This incident highlights both the prevalence of these extortion groups and the growing frustration with them.

How to tackle the issue

The Inclusive Society of South Africa has laid out the impact and tactics that can be used to stop these groups in a comprehensive document.

Notably, the methods they suggest for halting such organised crime include:

• Promoting transparent project engagement
• Tackling economic inequality
• Addressing racial equality
• Rooting out corruption
• Broadly tackling organised crime
• implementing police reforms
• Infrastructure development for inclusive growth
• Leadership and accountability on all levels

Makara from Cliffe Dekker and Hofmeyr attorneys says that the best advice he can give is “tackling these groups starts with reporting and if possible, getting a high court interdict.” He further says, “While this is serious it is not all doom and gloom, and there are steps that can be taken to address the phenomenon.” When asked what some of the best weapons were against these groups, he says that “video evidence goes a long way and is very helpful in bringing justice.”