“Durban Declaration” to combat construction mafias

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) has announced its partnership with other agencies to tackle criminal syndicates disrupting the construction industry in South Africa.

Engagements with the South African Police Service, the National Treasury, and the Construction Industry Development Board led to the establishment of the Durban Declaration of Crime-Free Construction Sites, at the National Construction Summit in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday.

DPWI minister, Dean Macpherson, says this multi-agency approach is aimed at eradicating “construction mafias”. He says the key measures of the declaration include streamlining legislation, improving data and reporting systems, and fostering collaboration among industry stakeholders.

“The Durban Declaration marks a historic partnership and commitment between different sectors of society to work together to bring an end to the so-called construction mafia, and ensure that infrastructure projects continue uninterrupted. It binds sectors to implement certain interventions to discourage criminality at construction sites, reduce opportunities for disruptions to occur, and hold the guilty accountable.”

Police Minister, Senzo Mchunu, highlighted that a specialised unit has been established – as part of its role in dealing with crime in the industry. Specifically, as it relates to extortion and violence. Mchunu says teams will be deployed to hotspot areas.

“The structure does indicate specialised investigative capacity so that we up the stakes in combatting this particular crime, in different units in our country: visible policing on one hand and detectives on the other, at all levels: nationally and provincially.”

The Western Cape is among four provinces identified as most affected by this, with Cape Town highlighted as the municipality where such criminal behaviour most often occurs.

Macpherson commended the steps taken by the City of Cape Town, in tackling “construction mafias” and believes a similar approach may be needed to address the nationwide problem.

“It may require that we replicate the pioneering work of the City of Cape Town to join forces with the private and public sectors to fight the scourge at development level projects. The police will need to take stronger action to arrest those found to be disrupting projects at source.”

The Durban Declaration will involve a year of targeted interventions, with progress to be reported at the next summit.