Politicians Behind Construction Mafia, Says Black Business Forum

The Black Business Federation BBF has come out guns blazing, accusing top politicians and councillors of being behind the so-called construction mafia .

We know who they are and how they work, BBF Secretary General Wonder Jaca told IOL in an exclusive interview. Ten years ago we agreed at a provincial level that black contractors must be given 30 of all government projects. This was to ensure the playing fields are levelled and black construction companies are given opportunities too.

Using this agreement, some politicians and councillors at provincial and eThekwini level in particular then began using our agreement to bypass us and bring in their own people to get contracts and a cut from it. Some even set up their own construction companies so that they could benefit and this is still happening, Jaca told IOL.

The construction mafia is seen as a group of individuals who descend on construction projects demanding they be included as contractors and threaten to halt the work if this does not happen. In the latest incident, five men were arrested this week amid allegations of being construction mafia. They stand accused of disrupting a project outside Pietermaritzburg .

But, the BBF has decried any association with those disrupting projects, labelling them 'rogue elements' within the federation and government circles and called for their arrests. In a frank admission, Jaca explained how it all began.