How the Western Cape’s building industry can lead the charge against the construction mafia’s crippling impact on the local economy

The Master Builders Association Western Cape (MBAWC) has joined the counteroffensive against the so-called “construction mafia” terrorising legitimate building industry stakeholders across South Africa.

The Western Cape has not been spared the scourge of deadly extortion and intimidation wrought by sophisticated crime syndicates who prey relentlessly on contractors for personal gain.

Six significant projects valued at more than R400 million have been halted in the province this year due to syndicate activity. At the same time, 22 of the country’s 200 extortion cases being investigated by police occur in the Western Cape.

Figures from Deputy Minister of Public Works Sihle Zikalala show that project disruptions by construction mafia groups cost South Africa R63 billion between 2019 and 2024.

Murder and building sites being set on fire when contractors fail to comply are now an industry reality.

In June, Stefanutti Stocks coastal manager Matthew Horwill miraculously survived a hit-style shooting in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal, where his vehicle was sprayed with bullets as he approached his office.

At this month’s National Construction Summit on Crime-Free Construction Sites in Durban, Andile Zondi, CEO of the South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors, told delegates that an entire construction site in Mossel Bay had been burnt to the ground in an act of construction mafia sabotage.

Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson called the summit in response to the industry crime wave. It resulted in the signing of the Durban Declaration of Crime-Free Construction Sites, a collective agreement between the departments of public works, police and finance, and the Construction Industry Development Board to end the rampant criminality pervading the sector. 

The MBAWC has joined the fight against syndicates by recommending measures construction stakeholders can take to protect themselves and bring perpetrators to justice.

According to MBAWC Executive Director Petra Devereux, the organisation has participated in various forums where numerous insights have been gathered into a collective.

A common recommendation is that affected parties should engage in preventative measures and with communities, Vispol(visible policing) at the police station nearest the site and SAPS sector commanders prior to projects being undertaken.

Aside from companies knowing their rights, where possible they should install cameras to monitor sites. Should site invasions occur, these measures would enable them to collect vehicle registration numbers and perpetrator identities so action can be taken against invaders either through interdicts or police interventions.

A devastating consequence of mafia activity is that, in addition to the hundreds of millions of rand already lost to delays, future revenues are also dented as investors become less inclined to invest in projects.

In this regard, one of the greatest weapons construction companies have at their disposal are globally recognised standards that fall under the International Organisations for Standardisation (ISO). 

ISO 37001 helps organisations prevent, detect, and address bribery and corruption. It provides guidance on how to establish, implement, maintain, review, and improve an anti-bribery management system.

Muhammad Ali, managing director of South African ISO specialist World Wide Industrial & Systems

Engineers (WWISE) explains that ISO 37001’s anti-bribery management system assures stakeholders that an organisation has taken suitable measures to prevent bribery.

“Businesses will also be able to implement the necessary measures to reduce the bribery risk. These measures detect the risk before it negatively impacts the business,” Ali says.

The system includes a zero-tolerance policy, which the company ensures through effective consequence management. The company works alongside law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to publicly demonstrate the consequences of breaking the law.

Chandre Abrahams, the MBAWC’s Marketing Committee Chairperson, is adamant that companies must pursue transparency and a community engagement policy. By doing so, residents of these communities will understand that projects ultimately benefit them in terms of infrastructure and employment opportunities.

Government contracts stipulate that 30% of spending on public infrastructure projects and procurements worth more than R30 Million should go to local community subcontractors. Ironically, criminal organisations are exploiting this stipulation.

In his address at the National Construction Summit, MacPherson said the syndicates used the 30% rule to demand that 30% of a construction cost be paid to them directly or that only “their people or their contractors” were hired for construction to continue. “In many cases, these syndicates demand the 30% payment without ever doing any work.”

However, the MBAWC is now urging a proactive rather than reactive approach to the syndicates, and on 20 February next year will host a Security Summit in Cape Town to further empower affected role players, together with industry partners. 

Devereux says contractors who are intimidated or threatened do not have to report cases to the police station in the precinct where the specific incident occurred; they are within their rights to lodge complaints at stations in other areas if they feel unsafe.

She also emphasises that industry collaboration is essential to eradicating criminal elements.

“We need to work together with organisations like Business Against Crime, professional industry bodies and government. We need to be informed, know who to call and stand in unity. We must send out a powerful message to these criminals that we will not tolerate them as we rebuild our country.”

The MBAWC has also encouraged sector stakeholders to note that law enforcement agencies, including SAPS, are starting to make inroads against corrupt organisations.

At the end of last year, SAPS confirmed that the 712 cases referred for investigation had resulted in 722 arrests and 52 convictions, with hundreds of these cases still in court.

In the Western Cape, metro police and SAPS have also signed a cooperation agreement to stamp out mafia activity.

The MBAWC has called for the construction industry to embrace a zero-tolerance approach centred on collaborative law enforcement and willingness to participate in eradicating criminal syndicates.