A gun-toting gang of six, dubbed ‘construction mafia’, held up construction workers and stole 300 litres of diesel in the deep rural area of Bergville on Monday (May 12).

This came just after MEC for Transport & Human Settlements Siboniso Duma visited the area on Monday, where he announced a R177-million investment for the rehabilitation of the P304 main road. This road serves as a major link that connects Bergville to Maloti Drakensberg Park / Royal Natal Park through the R74. The road plays a vital role in terms of stimulating rural economies for communities living in poverty.

The devastating floods destroyed this road network, resulting in hundreds of communities being isolated, as they cannot access hospitals, schools and socio-economic centres.

The Department of Transport has raised concerns following the robbery, with Duma saying that:

“With this investment, as the department, we want to ensure that the P304 remains in a safe and usable condition and contributes towards the stimulation of all sectors of the economy such as agriculture and tourism. This robbery is the first of its kind and the case number is CAS 17/05/2025 at Bergville police station.

“We are confident that KZN police commissioner Lt General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and his team of law enforcement agencies will apprehend the criminals.

“We salute Inkosi Njabulo Miya of the Emazizini Traditional Council, the izinduna and the whole community for their public display of anger and opposition against these criminals who are trying to derail the project. Finally, we are encouraging anyone with information about this robbery to contact the nearest police.”

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Duma added that there should be no place for construction mafia gangs in villages, townships, suburbs or anywhere else in KwaZulu-Natal.

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