Johannesburg - ActionSA has slammed the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Public Works, Sipho Nkosi, for negotiating with alleged construction mafias targeting construction sites across the province.
Last week, Nkosi indicated that he was willing to meet with the leaders of the construction mafia groups in the province before law enforcement agencies got involved.
He said his department’s priority is to immediately unblock all stalled construction projects, which includes meeting with the so-called construction mafia.
However, both ActionSA and the DA in the province criticised Nkosi for hollowing out state institutions and giving organised crime syndicates the licence to do as they please.
ActionSA provincial chairperson Zwakele Mncwango said the party condemns the decision made by Nkosi to enter into negotiations with the “construction mafia”, which has been terrorising and disrupting construction projects in parts of KZN.
“It is a cause for grave concern that, instead of cracking down on these criminals who not only halt construction but also create fear and uncertainty among potential investors, the KZN government is beginning to recognise such groups as a structure in our community that needs to be negotiated with as a legitimate entity,” he said.
Mncwango said the government should find a way of resolving this matter, which has seen the province be dogged by construction mafias that stall infrastructure development in the province.
It has been reported that the “construction mafia” costs the economy more than R68 billion a year.
This was revealed by Public Works Minister Sihle Zikalala, who last month visited Durban on a monitoring engagement at some of the affected sites.
“While we encourage the government’s commitment to working with formal business forums and for there to be government intervention where there is a need for local empowerment, especially among groups who were previously disadvantaged, we vehemently reject the notion of meeting with criminals and seeking to reach an agreement that favours them in any way,” Mncwango added.
In a recent interview, Zikalala said his department is cracking down on these syndicates and that there have been over 200 arrests countrywide, adding that his office would be collaborating with the police in order to deal with this economic sabotage.
“The ‘construction mafia’ has been holding service delivery to ransom in KZN and other parts of the country for far too long, and it cannot continue unabated. It certainly should not be encouraged, as the MEC is doing,” Mncwango said.
The Star