Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
12 July 2024 | 10:35 a.m. SAST
2-minute read

The 7th administration and the construction mafia 

Key points:

• The construction mafia in South Africa, particularly in KZN, is a severe crisis with profound implications for political instability, economic development and public safety
• The new KZN government has shown initiatives to roll back the influence of these networks
• Strategies must be developed to deal with potential resistance from the mafia

The new KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) provincial government, particularly under the MEC for public works and infrastructure, Martin Meyer, has shown a commitment to tackling the construction mafia.

The construction mafia in South Africa, particularly in provinces like KwaZulu-Natal, represents a significant challenge due to its entanglement with political and security elements.

The networks typically target companies involved in property development, demanding a percentage of the project’s value. Failure to comply can result in threats, violence, or sabotage.

“Essentially, if a company is involved in a development or some sort of property construction, they often get shaken down by these mafias who demand a percentage of the take. Very often, those who are victims don’t go to the media or the police. They have two options. They either just walk away, or they pay up what’s being demanded,” Dr Imraan Buccus, senior research associate at the Auwal Socioeconomic Research Institute (ASRI), told Radio Islam International.

Dr Buccus emphasised the connection between criminal networks and political dynamics and referred to links between the construction mafia and the Radical Economic Transformation (RET) faction of the African National Congress (ANC).

“There’s been really serious evidence and news emerging of how the RET faction has been operating and how the construction mafia have even taken out hits. And I think when you have this kind of gangsterisation of politics, the converse also applies. You have the politicisation of this gangsterism. So essentially there’s a link between politics and this gangsterism,” Dr Buccus noted.

More recently, there are indications of overlaps between the construction mafia and the new MK party.

Initial efforts to dismantle the construction mafia will likely be met with heightened conflict and resistance, posing significant risks to those involved. It may trigger political instability, particularly if factions within the ANC capitalise on the situation to challenge current leadership.

“It is likely that this pushback can include violence, it can include a political challenge to Ramaphosa nationally, to people like Martin Meyer provincially, and to the entire political administration in general. So I think despite that, there is a huge need for the state and the provincial state to have a strategy to deal with the mafia and also to have a strategy to deal with the potential pushback that might occur and surface as they undertake this task,” Dr Buccus said.

Dr Buccus emphasised the importance of lending support to the political efforts to rebuild the functionality of the provincial state in order to reduce economic and safety risks.

While it is a complex task that is fraught with challenges, the renewed commitment and political will that has been shown is a positive sign that the problem can be eradicated in time.

Listen to the ASRI Report with Moulana Habib Bobat on Sabaahul Muslim here.