amaBhungane | Construction mafia, political murders run riot – and companies turn to taxi bosses for help

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amaBhungane | Construction mafia, political murders run riot – and companies turn to taxi bosses for help

Companies have to cope with a complicit state, mushrooming"business forums" and limited economic space to accommodate them.On 11 September 2022, Mnqobi Molefe, 35, was shot dead while in hiding on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, where he was councillor for the outlying eThekwiniMost of the councillors, like Molefe, were ANC, killed in internal power struggles over local patronage networks.

Police say that on 22 August 2022, just before midnight, a municipal employee and associate of Molefe named Victor Cele was shot dead near Port Shepstone. In the early hours of the following morning, Buthelezi was murdered, as was Hlonipo Nzimande, another childhood friend. Police say the same gun was used in these three killings; nearly three weeks later, it was used to kill Molefe.

The newspaper said the task team was understood to have seized a laptop and cellphone belonging to Njoko, along with records of the CPG meetings held to discuss work on Ngwadini.The water authority set itself up as a champion of radical economic transformation, adopting a policy to set aside 35% of contract value for its Contract Participation Goals to go to black-owned small business.

According to Umgeni Water, the agreement meant affiliates of the BBF"could potentially become participants in Umgeni Water’s enterprise development programmes", but also that disruptions that Umgeni had previously endured might be avoided. Construction mafias emerged in Durban around 2014 and have since invaded building sites around the country. They became business forums, sprouted up across the land, and are constantly morphing and expanding into other economic sectors.

Political machines, he argues, offer"vast opportunities for the construction of corrupt syndicates" in which politicians and mafias operate in symbiosis. The year 2018 was a seminal period in the history of construction mafias. In that year Mnyandu lead a shutdown of construction on the R276 million Hammarsdale Interchange on the busy N3 highway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

In July, KZN MEC Sipho Nkosi was slated for suggesting talks with mafias responsible for multiple work stoppages on the construction of a high school in Umlazi, resulting in delays to the project of over a year.

In the taxi business, you operate a route, and you need protection. Taxi bosses use their talent and ability to exercise pressure and govern spaces. More about the taxi bosses later. They feature prominently in the bigger story about the construction mafia.Laws determine what percentage of state projects must be shared in local communities, but anyone working in this space has to untie a Gordian knot interpreting legislation and associated regulations governing these laws.

While the 2017 regulations – described by Brunette as"a centrepiece" of the Zuma faction’s patronage project – only governed public contracts, it was wilfully misinterpreted by construction mafias demanding a 30% share of private projects too.Both the 2017 regulations and the national policy vacuum since the February 2022 court decision have helped worsen the free-for-all.

The Procurement Bill, if enacted, will allow the minister to set policy. But for now, it is up to each state entity to determine its beneficiary criteria. The law aside, a host of other practicalities impact companies. They have to work with project steering committees that determine the beneficiaries of work and are invariably made up of councillors and business forums who are often at odds."We represented a client who built a mall. There were delays with the construction because the mafia demanded a share of the work. When the mall was built the same mafia demanded a say in who the mall tenants employed.

Makhosa Doko is a proud BBF member, the unapologetic face of restless, young business demanding a share in the economy. When BBF was formed in 2020, Doko says there was a rearguard action from armed forum members who wanted to pursue a more violent path.Forums, BBF members protest, abuse the organisation’s name for selfish benefit.

Makgwa says the rainbow nation is not a reality. She is not a founding member of BBF, but thanks to the organisation, she now engages directly with the CEO of Sanral."I have learned things I would never have." "Things are running smoothly," Jaca says."We unlocked projects, including for Umgeni Water. We found common ground through community liaison…projects must benefit everyone."

 

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