‘Construction mafia’, state looters are organised criminals

It is welcome news that the justice authorities are now taking seriously the disturbing phenomenon of the disruption of building sites by the so-called “construction mafia”.

These groups of criminals have used gangster behaviour to intimidate contractors on site into either hiring people connected to them or insisting on being cut into the deal.

In a number of cases, the intimidation and violence at construction sites has led to work being halted and even crews and equipment being pulled out.

It goes without saying that these are crimes which can have a widespread impact on the community and the country at large, by increasing the cost of doing business for construction companies or slowing and halting infrastructure projects.

Now, the Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors has met the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and been given the assurance that, in future, these illegal activities will not be deal with in the same way as “ordinary” crime.

In future, the NPA promised the forum, the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca) will be used to charge offenders. This act provides not only for tougher sentencing but also for more resources to be released to deal with what will now be a priority crime.

For the construction sector, that is good news – but it is also a sign of hope that the authorities will now start using more widely the legal muscle – like Poca – which they have available to tackle serious crime.

We believe that the looting of government resources and the theft from state-owned enterprises should easily qualify as organised crime. Therefore, it should not only be a priority for investigators, but they must be given the resources and the support they need to get convictions.

And when those looters are convicted they must be locked up. We’ve had enough of gangsters killing our country.

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