The expansion of the new public bus route into Mitchells' Plein was halted to to threats of violence from a criminal organisation calling itself a “local development forum”
The widening of AZ Berman Drive for the MyCiTi bus service expansion into Mitchells Plain stopped on February 28 due to contractors being forced off site by extortion groups.
Contractors left the site due to disruptions caused by an organised crime racket calling itself a “local development forum”, fearing violence if they did not comply.
The City of Cape Town sought a court interdict against the construction mafias, a typical timewasting excercise used by South African local authorities, in which a judge issues a statement declaring an obviously illegal activity to be illegal.
The term “construction mafia” originated in describing the emergence of the practice in KwaZulu Natal a decade ago, in which an organised crime group using the language of land rights and redistribution employ violence and the threat of violence to prevent construction and extort construction firms.
Between January 2023 and February 2024, 96 extortion attempts by construction mafias were reported in Cape Town, leading to project delays.
The practice enjoyed enormous success under the four-year tenure of Human Settlements councilor Malusi Booi, whose ties to the 28s gang saw housing contracts awarded to gang leader Ralph Stanfield’s wife’s company Glomix, allegedly in exchange for regular briefcases full of cash.
Police Minister Bheki Cele reported over 61 arrests linked to construction mafias nationwide since April 2023, with 27 convictions and 43 years of imprisonment.
