Africa-Press – South-Africa. The chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal ANC, Siboniso Duma, says criminal elements bringing the construction industry to its knees are not the real mafia.
Speaking at the first provincial tripartite alliance in 10 years, Duma said it was incorrect to characterise the criminal groupings as “mafia”.
Duma said: “By the way, in South Africa there are no black people in the mafia. The mafia is a cartel. These are people who are invisible and unknown and have no hegemony, but they control the economy.”
He said that, if someone spent R5 000 somewhere, “that’s new money tendencies, not mafia”.
“People come with guns and seven bullets and we call them a mafia? Comrades, that’s not how the mafia is designed,” Duma told provincial ANC, SACP and Cosatu delegates.
“We need to clarify that those [referred to as ‘construction mafia’ in the media] are thugs you’re talking about.”
He shielded the provincial secretary, Bheki Mtolo, from criticism after he had reportedly referred a man characterised as “mafia” to the eThekwini regional secretary, Musa Nciki.
The Sunday Times recently reported that a reformed criminal, Bhamuza Mnyandu, who is reportedly linked to the “construction mafia”, had been pressing the City manager, Musa Mbhele, to pay R5 million after the metro allegedly reneged on a deal which saw his crew protecting municipality assets during the 2021 riots.
The publication reported Mnyandu, who is the president of the Amadelangokubona Business Forum, as saying the provincial leadership of the ANC had asked that the dispute be settled.
Mtolo is on record as saying he referred the matter to Nciki.
Construction businesses are facing a criminal threat in the form of armed “construction mafias”, who storm project sites and demand a 30 percent cut.
Speaking to News24, Duma said: “I think our intentions in the province are that all the stakeholders have a fair chance when it comes to becoming service providers.
“There is 10 percent allocated on CPGs [contract participation goals], so we’re saying there is ample space.”
He said there were “thugs, criminals who are blocking construction sites”.
“We must deal with them, but we must never stop interacting with service providers on the ground.”
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