[imagesource: eSUB Construction]

Radical economic transformation, or economic sabotage?

When it comes to South Africa’s construction industry, government projects worth many billions are on hold because of interference from what has been dubbed ‘the Construction Mafia’.

According to President Ramaphosa’s head of investment infrastructure team, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, who spoke with eNCA, there are two parts to the ‘construction mafia’:

The first is made up of genuine entrepreneurs and the second is a criminal syndicated.

“We are establishing a unit that we specifically deal with those whose intention is to hijack projects. They don’t add any value, they just arrive at the site and demand 30 percent of the project in cash,” he explained.

You can watch the rest of the interview with Ramokgopa here.

In a segment from this past Sunday, Carte Blanche took a closer look at what’s going on:

They’re known as the Construction Mafia – community groups who demand a cut in building projects around the country, sometimes even resorting to violence and intimidation to get their way. From some form of employment, sub-contracting to their small businesses or in some cases straight up cash – they say they’ll continue to hold construction sites to ransom until they receive their share.

That doesn’t sound like any real form of economic transformation, but rather an extortion racket akin to what the Mafia has become famous for.

You might say they don’t understand the difference between the private and the public sector, or, as evident from what can be seen around the 6:45 mark, you might say they’re not interested:

Not exactly conducive to a thriving construction industry.

[sources:enca&carteblanche]