Says institutionalising the prevention side of the fight is an important step as the disruptors do not operate in one sphere of government, and infrastructure delivery does not sit in one department.
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There are definitely links between the activities of the construction mafia and some political parties, says Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson.
There is also evidence that criminals have infiltrated construction companies while links have emerged between some government officials and some construction site disruption cases but action is quickly taken against these officials, he said on Tuesday.
Macpherson said he attended a court case where an alleged construction mafia individual who had been arrested was supported by busloads – not minibuses – of people wearing the shirt of a particular political party and trying to pressure the court into giving the individual bail.
He said the government cannot normalise the behaviour of people who set up construction companies that don’t build anything yet provide security services that are not security services; providing construction services that are not construction services.
“They are nothing other than shells to extract money.”
He added that South Africa’s construction sites must be places of work, dignity, delivery, investment and growth – not places of fear, criminal control or where politically connected syndicates decide who may build, who may work, and who must pay.
New picture emerging
Macpherson said two years ago the construction mafia had become one of the greatest threats to infrastructure delivery and investment in South Africa, but that story has changed.
“Since then, we have taken the fight directly to these networks through the Construction Summit, the Durban Declaration, stronger coordination with Saps [South African Police Service], National Treasury, the CIDB [Construction Industry Development Board], public entities and industry stakeholders, better reporting, faster response, and stronger consequence management.
“And now, with cabinet’s approval of the Integrated Social Facilitation Framework, we are institutionalising the prevention side of the fight.
“This is how we turn the tide.”
Macpherson said a total of 52 contractors have been blacklisted since September 2025, compared to only two in the previous two years, with a further batch of contractors currently under review as the government continues its declared war on the construction mafia.
He added that construction disruptions in KwaZulu-Natal, was historically regarded as the hotspot of construction mafia activity, have fallen from more than 60 a month to fewer than 10.
Progress has been achieved since the signing of the Durban Declaration in November 2024, he added, with more than 770 cases of construction-related extortion and intimidation reported across South Africa since then, resulting in 241 arrests and 176 convictions.
He said this is a significant improvement and shows what can happen when government, law enforcement, public entities and the private sector act together, when contractors report cases and the state responds, and when criminals begin to understand that construction sites are no longer spaces where they can act without consequences.
Macpherson said the widely cited figure remains that more than 180 infrastructure and construction projects worth about R63 billion had been disrupted, delayed or affected by construction-mafia activity in the years leading up to the government’s intervention in November 2024.
He said those figures represent roads not built, schools delayed, water projects disrupted, public buildings stalled, private investment lost, workers sent home, and communities left waiting.
“This fight is far from over,” he added, noting that recent disruptions in Gauteng, including in Randfontein and the Vaal Region, show that risks remain.
“But they also show that the response system is now working differently.
“In those cases, incidents were escalated through the Provincial Priority Crimes Committee, Saps; stakeholders responded, affected groups were engaged, and sites were stabilised without allowing the disruptions to spiral into prolonged stoppages.”
Fight-focused framework
Macpherson said the construction mafia is still active and its networks are still looking for ways to infiltrate projects by trying to exploit legitimate participation and local economic development requirements.
It is also still trying to position front companies, manipulate community structures and influence subcontracting opportunities, and “still trying to make public infrastructure serve criminal interests instead of public interests”.
Macpherson said this is why it matters that cabinet has approved of the Integrated Social Facilitation Framework as a binding national policy instrument to standardise community engagement, build community buy-in, and help prevent construction stoppages.
He said this is a major step in moving from policy development to formal government implementation.
Government is moving from reacting to these disruptions to preventing them through coordinated law-enforcement responses, contractor blacklisting, professional social facilitators, stronger monitoring, and clearer channels for lawful community participation.
He said the Durban Declaration signed in November 2024 was government’s line in the sand that the state would no longer tolerate criminal disruption at construction sites and infrastructure projects must be allowed to continue uninterrupted.
The professionalisation of social facilitation is central to the reform envisaged by the framework.
The implementation of the framework will be coordinated through the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure-led Integrated Social Facilitation Collaboration Committee, which includes:
- The Infrastructure Technical Assistance Facility
- The Council for the Built Environment (CBE)
- The CIDB
- The Independent Development Trust
- The Association of Social Engagement Facilitators of South Africa
- The South African Local Government Association (Salga)
- The Motor Industry Staff Association
- The Association of Construction Project Managers
- The SA Council for the Project and Construction Management Profession (SACPCMP), and
- National Treasury.
“This is important because the construction mafia does not operate in one sphere of government, and infrastructure delivery does not sit in one department alone,” he said.
Macpherson said the focus will fall on five practical areas going forward:
- Prioritising implementation on high-risk projects where community conflict, extortion, vandalism or disruption risks are greatest;
- Working with public entities, provinces, municipalities and implementing agents to ensure that social facilitation is built into project planning and procurement from the start;
- Working with SACPCMP and CBE to advance the professionalisation, accreditation and registration of social facilitators;
- Strengthening monitoring and reporting so they can measure whether professional social facilitation is reducing disruptions, improving community satisfaction and protecting project delivery; and
- Continuing to work with the SAPS, National Treasury, the CIDB, provinces, municipalities and the construction sector to ensure that those who commit extortion, intimidation, violence and procurement abuse face consequences, with consequence management already being strengthened.
He stressed that the framework does not replace law enforcement but strengthens it.
“Where criminals invade sites, threaten workers, demand money, manipulate procurement, vandalise infrastructure or stop projects, they must be arrested.
“There can be no negotiation with extortionists. There can be no compromise with criminals.
“And there can be no future for a construction industry where delivery depends on paying protection money.”
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
