The City’s Urban Mobility Department says the construction mafia is blocking important transport construction projects valued at nearly R60 million, and with only 2 weeks left in the current financial year, this money is at risk of being unspent.

The Mayoral Committee member Rob Quintas says at least seven major projects have been halted due to safety concerns on site, ranging from the construction of new public transport infrastructure to road reconstruction and stormwater maintenance, primarily in vulnerable communities.

Unfortunately, the brazen attempts from these mafia-style extortionists are only intensifying. They are holding to ransom the City and our contractors, and ultimately, at the expense of service delivery to those who need these services most. It is completely and utterly unconscionable.

Quintas has vowed that the City will not bow to these criminals’ attempts to ”syphon public capital into their own pockets.”

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Projects that have recently been hamstrung or fully ground to a halt due to threats, intimidation, and tragically, outright murder on site, include:

• Construction of new MyCiTi depots on the corner of Spine Road and Mew Way in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain
• Rehabilitation of Delft Main Road, from Stellenbosch Arterial to Silversands Road in Delft
• Upgrading of various roads and associated works in Bishop Lavis
• Roads resealing and stormwater repairs project in Delft
• Roads rehabilitation project in Kalksteenfontein
• Walter Sisulu / Lindela roundabout in Khayelitsha
• Installation of traffic calming measures and footways, including sidewalk and embayment construction, in Brooklyn

Quintas says the Urban Mobility Directorate prioritises the safety of all road users, and allocates funds for projects to improve mobility and access for pedestrians, public transport users, and motorists.

“Beyond that, we are committed to helping plug the gaping hole left where a functional passenger rail service used to be. We are also expanding the routes of the MyCiTi bus service to the metro-south east. This second phase of the MyCiTi bus service will provide a safe, scheduled, and reliable public transport option to tens of thousands of residents in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain needing to commute to Claremont and Wynberg.”

Quintas concludes it is utterly dismaying to see ”rampant and relentless criminal interference with projects that are designed to improve and protect the lives of ordinary, honest residents.”