No ‘skop-and-donner’ for construction mafia, pleas Safcec

In fighting the so-called construction mafia, one should look at the root causes of the issue rather than trying to address it with a ‘skop-and-donner’ approach, says Webster Mfebe, CEO of the South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec).

The construction mafia is a term used to refer to so-called business forums that stop work on construction sites, often violently, unless their members get a share of the contract value.

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Mfebe says that in 2016, the first life was lost in such an incident when a contractor refused to pay under duress. The lowlight was in 2019, when 110 people with technical and engineering skills left the country because of the dangerous working conditions in the construction industry.

He points out that between 2018 and 2022, operations on more than 400 construction sites were disrupted by such groups.

Government appointed multi-disciplinary task teams to address the matter and Sihle Zikalala, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, said in October that 682 people stand accused of violent conduct related to construction sites.

Mfebe cautions that people without access to services set infrastructure on fire to draw attention to the problems because “the leaders are absent between elections”.

It is against the background of this culture of violence that young people are looking for opportunities. They then use violence to ensure they share in the profits of construction projects in their communities. “In 1994, we were promised that everybody would be included, but large numbers of youth are still unemployed,” he says.

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Mfebe adds that he was warned to stay away from dangerous groups that referred to themselves as business forums, but he started engaging the leaders and advised them to act within the law.

This approach has borne some fruit with many business forums uniting under the umbrella of the Black Business Forum (BBF).

“Now they act within the law. If a construction site is disrupted [especially in KwaZulu-Natal], they are not the culprits. They go there and restore order,” claims Mfebe.

“They have now denounced violence but still insist on participation in local projects. These are young people with lots of energy who are economically astute,” he adds.

And among them are highly qualified professionals. The problem now is that other “business forums” that want to emulate the initial model of violence now spring up everywhere. “It’s the easiest, a shortcut.”

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The number of violent incidents has decreased, especially in KZN, which was the hotspot.

In the Western Cape, leaders take the position that “we don’t negotiate with criminals”. According to Mfebe, that is the wrong approach.

“There must be constructive conversation, and parties must be able to give and take.”

He says government must address the lack of leadership at municipal level and suggests that they use the District Development Model to manage community participation in construction projects.

“The municipality is the one that issues the necessary permits [before a project may start]. They can use that as an early warning to manage the project to ensure effective community participation.

“When people have skills, but they see others come from outside to do the job, they feel excluded. The private sector must also wake up and maintain the same level of transparency and accountability in this regard that we expect from government,” he says.

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“When you build a mall, you can’t just say you are using your own money. It targets the community. They are justified when they ask questions about the permissions granted for the project, environmental and security issues,” says Mfebe.

“Then communities will work out the troublemakers themselves.”

“Currently, it looks as if firearms unlock opportunities. Children see role models without school education who start their own construction companies by using firearms. The message is that education is not important,” he notes.

Elsie Snyman, CEO of construction data service Industry Insight says everybody in the construction industry is now just accepting the demand for 30% project participation and simply up their spending on security.

She, however, sees it as nothing but protection money, with business forums adding little value in return. “In the end, the taxpayer pays more for infrastructure, and less infrastructure can be built with the same budget.”

Snyman proposes that the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), which grades contractors and suppliers according to their technical and financial strength, compile databases of small enterprises in local communities that qualify for contracts.

She is sceptical about the formalisation of business forums. “You cannot formalise criminality.”

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Tollo Nkosi, CEO of Umso Construction, which has a top CIDB rating, confirms that the focus has changed from fighting the “construction mafia” to talks with business forums. He says clients like road agency Sanral played an important role in developing community consultation systems.

“Some of them (business forums) turned the corner and are no longer using violence.” There are, however, still some criminal elements.

Nkosi says the violence has decreased in KZN, where it was rife, but in the Western Cape, there is not enough engagement yet.