Organisations presenting themselves as business forums have been targeting construction and service delivery projects in Johannesburg, apparently demanding jobs and using violence and intimidation to disrupt and shut down these sites.
This according to Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba. In a recent statement, he said this was an attempt by the so-called business forums to secure economic empowerment for their members.
“As a result of this unlawful behaviour, service delivery has been delayed in parts of the city, stringent time-frames of the contracts have not been met, resulting in penalties and unnecessary delays in addressing service delivery backlogs,” Mashaba said on 23 January.
He said the City would not tolerate any criminal behaviour by these organisations and will not hesitate to approach the police to intervene.
Businesses are instead encouraged to submit formal tenders which will be considered by the City, he added.
“The practice of attempting to hijack appointed contractors will not be tolerated and the City will take legal action against business forum members attempting to halt projects.”
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