Earlier this week I received a deeply concerning call about yet another case of construction mafia intimidation. A female contractor informed me that a member of a so-called business forum had threatened to shut down her site unless its demands for a cut were met. During the same conversation the individual made it clear that he would “deal with me” if the forum was not included.
This is not an isolated incident. It reflects the growing boldness of criminal groups that masquerade as business forums but operate as extortionists. They cross ward boundaries, target both public and private projects, and hold Johannesburg’s development to ransom.
As a former construction business owner myself, I know this reality far too well. I have been forced off sites by armed men wielding pangas and guns. These mafias leave projects incomplete, push up costs and scare off investors.
Residents bear the cost of stalled projects
Ultimately it is residents who suffer.
Nowhere is this more visible than in our collapsing water and road systems.
Contracts to upgrade or replace pipelines, reservoirs and pumping stations are in most cases handed to cronies who cannot deliver, resulting in contract termination and another contractor being appointed.
— Every dry tap tells the story of betrayal.
No-one gets reported to the Treasury, so there are no consequences, resulting in them being awarded another contract elsewhere in the city. Projects are abandoned halfway, vandalised infrastructure is left behind, and reservoirs run dry.
Ordinary residents are forced to queue with buckets while millions are wasted on contractors who pocket money but never complete the work. Every dry tap tells the story of betrayal.
Roadworks stalled by extortion
The same mafias hijack road maintenance and resurfacing projects. Roads remain half built because so-called business forums demand 30% of the work, and in some cases there is a refusal to provide previous certificates of completion of prior work.
Pothole repairs are delayed, resurfacing jobs are stopped midway, and contractors are forced to pay “protection fees” before they can lay a single brick or pour tar.
— The construction mafia must be called out for what they are: criminals sabotaging our economy, vandalising our infrastructure and terrorising our communities.
The result is clear on our streets: dangerous potholes that damage vehicles, unfinished sidewalks, crumbling bridges and stalled road upgrades that should have eased traffic and boosted local business.
The truth is stark. Johannesburg’s water shortages and collapsing roads are not accidents. They are the direct result of criminal syndicates treating development projects as cash cows, aided by officials who look the other way or even collude with them. This is not simply poor service delivery. It is organised sabotage of the very systems residents depend on every day.
Call for urgent action
Urgent action is needed. Agreements signed between officials and so-called business forums must be interrogated. Lifestyle audits should be conducted on officials, councillors and all those implicated in collusion. All incomplete projects, particularly in water and road infrastructure, must be investigated to determine the role of construction mafia interference. And law enforcement agencies must play their part in dismantling these networks.
The construction mafia must be called out for what they are: criminals sabotaging our economy, vandalising our infrastructure and terrorising our communities. The officials who enable them must be held to account.
But this fight cannot be won by the government alone. Residents, contractors, civil society and business owners must report every incident of intimidation, extortion and sabotage. Silence only emboldens the mafia; speaking out is the first step to dismantling their power.
Johannesburg belongs to its people — not to extortionists and not to those who protect them. Every dry tap, every pothole, every stalled project is proof of betrayal. Together we can restore the rule of law, protect honest businesses and ensure that our communities finally receive the water, roads and services they pay for and rightfully deserve.
• Kayser-Echeozonjoku is DA caucus leader in the Johannesburg city council.
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