Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has reported significant progress in reducing construction stoppages by criminal syndicates through intensified intelligence gathering, data tracking and law enforcement operations.

Since November last year, 745 construction-related extortion cases have been reported to the South African Police Service, and 240 arrests have been made related to these cases, he said during a report on his regular meeting with the nine provincial MECs, or the Minmec.

The progress includes the deployment of Economic Infrastructure Task Teams to known construction mafia hotspots, which ensured that swift arrests take place and infrastructure is protected.

Infrastructure investment remained one of the most powerful tools to stimulate economic growth and to create employment, he emphasised.

Gauteng remains the highest contributor, with 241 cases reported and 81 arrests, followed by the Western Cape with 198 reported cases and 73 arrests. KwaZulu-Natal is third with 102 cases and 16 arrests, and the Eastern Cape fourth with 86 cases and six arrests.

Collectively, these four provinces account for 84% of all construction mafia extortion cases.

The anonymous Extortion Hotline, established through the Durban Declaration in November, has received 779 reports, leading to 30 cases being referred to provincial authorities for immediate intervention.

“This is major breakthrough in our fight against criminals and gangsters who think they can threaten our projects with impunity.

“The public is no longer scared of them and will provide us with information in order to reclaim their infrastructure projects, which serve their communities,” Macpherson said.

Additionally, the Construction Industry Development Board (cidb), an entity of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), has initiated collaboration with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) to address extortionists who pose as security firms.

This initiative will ensure there is stricter monitoring and regulatory enforcement by PSIRA of security companies operating within the sector.

DELISTINGS

A presentation by the Auditor-General of South Africa Tsakani Maluleke at Minmec revealed the slow pace of delisting of nonperforming or corruption-accused suppliers.

Since 2002, only one company had been delisted from supplying to the DPWI. This needed to be urgently addressed, if South Africa wanted to reverse the culture of impunity, Macpherson said.

The department has started working with the Auditor-General to address the performance of its auditing processes, which will ensure public money is spent on its intended outcomes and corruption is met with strict consequence management.

Further, the DPWI has started working on reforming its blacklisting policy, which will ensure that contractors that underperform or engage in unethical practices will no longer have the privilege of working on public projects.

“We have tasked the cidb to urgently get ahead of underperforming contractors and blacklist them without delay, and to ensure that they are unable to gain any tenders from any sphere or entity of the State.

“Within the months ahead, the pace at which companies are delisted should be rapidly increased, with more than 40 companies facing blacklisting.

“This should be encouraging to hear for all South Africans who care how public funds are spent,” he added.

EPWP

Further, it was universally agreed in the Minmec meeting that the Expanded Public Works Programme should be reformed into a skill-based programme that places participants on a path toward permanent employment.

“My vision remains that moving forward, the programme needs to partner with the private sector in order to truly empower participants with skills, experience and job opportunities,” Macpherson said.

SMALL HARBOURS

In the next phase of the programme to ensure that previously abandoned or neglected DPWI properties are used to drive economic and job growth in their communities, the department also hopes to release the small harbours it owns for requests for development.

“This will ensure that small harbours such as Hout Bay and Saldanha Bay can attract additional tourism investment. We believe we will be able to develop these small harbours in a similar fashion to the V&A Waterfront.”

Meanwhile, the problem of municipal infrastructure was discussed, especially as the Auditor-General's presentation highlighted the high failure rates of infrastructure maintenance and the ability to complete projects by municipalities.

The work that infrastructure planning and promotion organisation Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) is doing to assist municipalities to prepare and package infrastructure projects was highlighted in the meeting with the MECs.

ISA was doing a pilot project in four municipalities through its “adopt-a-municipality” programme, which would see it playing a greater role in planning, execution and delivery of projects in these test cases, Macpherson said.