Public Works Minister, Dean Macpherson, says his department is starting to break the hold of the so-called “construction mafia” on government infrastructure projects in KwaZulu-Natal.
Minister Macpherson reported that it has been a full year since a project in the province has been interfered with by extortion groups. This progress follows a pact signed at a national construction summit in Durban in November of last year.
Since then, authorities have lodged more than 700 cases related to construction mafia activities and have arrested at least 250 people in connection with these complaints.
“These early indicators show that confidence is slowly beginning to be restored in the sector,” Minister Macpherson stated.
