Moves are reportedly being made to rein in the disruption of construction sites by the so-called ‘construction mafia’ or business forums.

This will be done through the use of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca).

According to Moneyweb, SA Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec) CEO Webster Mfebe said that he led a delegation to a meeting with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in October last year, during which the NPA agreed that the disruption of construction sites should not be dealt with as just a common criminal act but in terms of Poca.

This will then release resources and attention to deal with these crimes head-on, he said.

The meeting followed Safcec in March last year sending an SOS to government and demanding urgent intervention at the highest level, to halt a series of attacks on construction projects by people part of the ‘construction mafia’.

Mfebe said at the time that these gangs had by then disrupted and halted at least 78 projects worth a minimum of R25.5 billion.

A chorus of related bodies – including the Association of SA Quantity Surveyors, the SA Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions and the SA Institution of Civil Engineering – added their voices to those with growing concerns over these forums’ activities.

These illegal site disruptions caused listed construction and engineering group Aveng and European-based Strabag International to withdraw from an SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) project that forms part of the N2 Wild Coast Road Construction project, over fears for the safety of their employees.

Armed gangs in March last year also halted construction on the R2.4 billion German oil storage investment project being built in Saldanha by JSE-listed construction group WBHO.

Mfebe described it as “a very fruitful meeting indeed”, adding that it was attended by the heads of various NPA divisions such as the Asset Forfeiture and Anti-Gang units.