EFF statement on R63 billion cost of construction mafia
22 November 2024
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes the unchecked rise and devastating impact of the construction mafia which has disrupted over 180 projects worth R63 billion since 2019, according to the Deputy Minister of Finance. This extortion racket has not only delayed critical infrastructure development but has also entrenched a culture of violence, corruption, and economic sabotage.
The construction sector, a crucial pillar of South Africa's economy contributing 3% to GDP and employing over 1.3 million citizens, is being held hostage by criminal syndicates with impunity. The ANC administration's failure to develop and implement a long-term strategy to eliminate this scourge is a betrayal of the people. While the SAPS, through visible policing and crime intelligence, claims to have made strides, these efforts remain fragmented and insufficient. The reality is that these syndicates continue to operate, expanding their reach beyond construction into other sectors.
This government's reliance on reactivity and ineffective interventions expose their lack of political will and strategic foresight.
The EFF has consistently sounded the alarm on the urgent need for a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to dismantle these organised crime networks. Yet, when we proposed the establishment of an ad-hoc committee in the National Assembly, to tackle this crisis, the Democratic Alliance (DA), including their Deputy Finance Minister, dismissed it as unnecessary. Ironically, Minister of Police Bheki Mchunu now suggests a similar approach—further evidence of the reactive, disjointed leadership that plagues this DA-ANC coalition.
The EFF reiterates its call for a robust, coordinated response involving all stakeholders: law enforcement, state-owned enterprises, private sector partners, and civil society. We need a proactive, multidisciplinary task force with the authority and resources to dismantle these criminal networks comprehensively. This must include the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), crime intelligence operations, and the involvement of local communities to expose and isolate these criminal elements.
The construction mafia is not merely a criminal nuisance; it is an organised treasonous assault on our nation's economic sovereignty and developmental progress. The DA and their coalition's refusal to support the EFF's proactive solutions is evidence of their complicity and failure to prioritise the interests of South Africans over corporate and criminal interests.
The EFF will continue to present these necessary interventions in the National Assembly, until we eliminate the construction mafia and restore integrity and progress to our infrastructure sector.
Issued by Leigh-Ann Mathys, National Spokesperson, EFF, 22 November 2024
