Public works and infrastructure minister Sihle Zikalala has taken a hard line on the construction mafia, saying he is not ruling out the possibility of roping in the army to deal with those undermining infrastructure development in South Africa.
Zikalala told TimesLIVE Premium this week he is willing to facilitate discussions with people with a genuine interest in entering the construction industry, but he will not tolerate criminal elements.
“A suggestion from the Eastern Cape has come to rope in the army and we believe that is a subject that must still be discussed internally. But the first intervention should be through facilitation, and if facilitation doesn’t work and it’s clear that the police are not successful, then we must bring in the army, if necessary. But we are not a military state,” he said.
In a wide-ranging interview, Zikalala said with law enforcement agencies on his side, he was confident the government would get on top of the issue.
I think there is a need to transform the industry and that is something that we must genuinely work for but criminality must not be accepted.
— Public works minister Sihle Zikalala
“We have the infrastructure to build an anti-corruption unit which is within the law enforcement. We want to separate those people who have genuine interest of venturing into the industry because we appreciate that the industry is white and male-dominated. There are no young people and less women.
“I think there is a need to transform the industry and that is something that we must genuinely work for, but criminality must not be accepted. There must be nothing that promotes criminality, and that is why we are saying within the department we want to capacitate facilitation because whether it is a private sector or government project, we must ensure local communities benefit.”
In recent months, a group called Amadelangokubona — a group of “tenderpreneurs” who have organised themselves into a forum demanding a 30% share from contractors working for the government and private companies — has been terrorising the KwaZulu-Natal government.
Experts say the disruption of construction projects has cost the economy more than R63bn since 2019.
Zikalala says work has begun to discuss 30% localisation to ensure communities benefit from infrastructure projects.
“This would mean that if a company gets a contract from the government we say 30% of the value must be reserved for local subcontractors. The problem has been in the defining of that locality — is it a district, province or national?
“You will find companies parachuting with their own subcontractors, moving from one area to another, and that then creates discord in communities.”
In some cases, he said, companies bring their own employees to do the work.
“Let alone those that exploit the system through the use of foreign nationals for lower pay. So these are all the things that we need to do to rebuild the industry as a critical backbone. Infrastructure development is quite key in growing the economy.”
The department is working with law enforcement agencies to ensure that these cases are dealt with, but he said prevention is also important.
Zikalala added the government would find a permanent solution to the matter.
“If at a local level, we successfully establish structures where people who are in construction will work and there is a database and we also, through the legal framework, unpack this 30%, I believe that we will be able to address the challenge.”
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