Public Works MEC negotiates with ‘construction mafia’ in Umlazi

MEC for Public Works Sipho Nkosi, said he is confident negotiations with “construction mafia” threatening the construction work at an Umlazi school will yield positive results.

Nkosi visited Menzi High School Wednesday for an oversight visit and to outline the department’s intervention strategies and actions to address the cartels that are sabotaging the project by stalling the building operations.

Speaking to the media at the school, Nkosi said these acts of disruption, particularly on school and health facilities should be classified as acts of treason.

ALSO READ | ‘Construction mafia’ arrests

“Only 14% has been done since the work started. What angers me, even more as a parent, is that these classrooms that are meant to benefit our children are not being built.

“This is going directly against what Inkosi Albert Luthuli, the former president general of the ANC, signed in the Freedom Charter and proclaimed that the doors of learning and culture shall be open.”

READ MORE
‘Construction mafia’ arrests
The project, valued at more than R37 million, was initiated in June 2022 to relieve the overcrowding at the school and provide 13 more classrooms.

ALSO READ | Construction mafias ‘threatening many jobs’ in KwaZulu-Natal

The construction was supposed to be completed in 2024. However, the completion date has been moved to 2025 due to construction being halted many times over a short period by “gun-wielding” people who claim to be from the construction forum.

According to the local councillor, these men demand 30% of the tender, but with no intention to offer any services. Ward 92 councillor Sbusiso Cele said what made this issue hard to contain was the fact that different individuals approached the contractors with different demands.

Today, one group would come to demand the 30% payment and construction would continue, and later a different group would come with the same demands
Cele confirmed that these individuals were from Umlazi and he had engaged with them on this issue on different occasions to plead with them for the construction to continue.

MEC Nkosi said the intentional disruptions and blockages of major construction projects undertaken by the department, pose significant challenges to government’s efforts to drive economic growth, create jobs, and improve the living standards of citizens.

ALSO READ | Criminal gangs are sabotaging South Africa’s economy

“These deliberate acts of sabotage have not only impeded progress, but have also had far-reaching consequences for infrastructure development, public services, completion of projects in record time and the overall wellbeing of the affected communities,” he said.

Nkosi said if the negotiations don’t yield positive results, then the department will request that the national government intervene to protect the state’s resources.