INDUSTRY UNDERWORLD OP-ED: ‘Construction mafias’ are holding a key South African economic sector to ransom

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At one construction site, a group of men gave the owner of the company an AK-47 bullet and said, ‘This bullet was worth R17. That is the cost of your life if you do not comply with us.’

Often armed with, the leaders of these armed groups made their demands known in an intimidatory fashion, often with their firearms displayed. As one construction manager described it:

Increasing number of construction companies and developers are now taking the option of accommodating business forums rather than face the consequences of refusing to cooperate Through these 30% claims, the extortion groups frame themselves through the ideology of “radical economic transformation”, claiming to represent the interest of local communities, promoting employment of local people of colour, and lobbying for local business forums to be included in the project work.

“No one can discount the desire of communities to be part of the mainstream economy, but these construction mafia gangs use extortion methods to demand to be included in the contract. We’ve explained to them that the local subcontractors do not have to be members of their group.” In reality, an increasing number of construction companies and developers are now taking the option of accommodating business forums rather than face the consequences of refusing to cooperate. “Eventually, the amounts businesses are paying forums becomes a line item in their budgets,” said Dominic Collett, chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal Business Chambers Council.

Even where businesses negotiate with these groups, they can still become the target of threats and intimidation. For example, in December 2017, Safcec started to engage the FFRET and, eventually, the two bodies agreed to work together to find a solution. According to Mfebe, immediately following these engagements the FFRET made attempts to prevent its members from disrupting sites, and there was a decline in the number of site disruptions.

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No proper structure to our society. Of it gets worse we will end up like Mogadishu

Thanks to the government criminals rule South Africa. HamiltonCele PresidencyZA Our_DA HermanMashaba OUTASA

In places like Ennerdale, where a new SAPoliceService Police Station is being built, local hoodlums demand their trucks to be used, but then they do not own any trucks. They depend on white owned trucks but add a 40% premium. The site is next to a Police station!

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maybe grab that hand and stab that head with a screwdriver R45 ?

Guys are getting creative now. Copying those American movies with the NYC Italian Mafia. Construction, Waste Removal, Unions and shit…

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