Mafia shutting down road construction projects in South Africa

South African infrastructure projects are routinely plagued by armed criminal groups who disrupt operations while demanding a cut of the funds, earning them the nickname “construction mafia.”

Construction mafia groups have cropped up nationwide and have disrupted everything from housing and water developments to road maintenance and infrastructure upgrades.

Dean Macpherson, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, said that these mafias are a destructive and dangerous risk to infrastructure in South Africa.

Speaking at the 2026 Biznews Conference in August 2026, the minister warned that these criminals are often armed with high-calibre weapons and rock up to construction sites in expensive cars to show off and make cash demands.

Road development projects are often valued in the hundreds of millions of rands, and these syndicates often demand a significant portion of the funds.

They often demand money in exchange for “protection.” In other cases, criminals claim to represent the interests of local businesses that have been excluded from the project.

Because of this, some municipalities, including the City of Cape Town, are now reluctant to publish the value of infrastructure developments, as multi-million-rand projects are a prime target for extortionists.

Macpherson added that the criminals often masquerade as business forums and that the syndicates that have formed from these groups are becoming increasingly bold.

“They arrive on construction sites to intimidate workers and shut down billions of rands in economic development without consequence,” he said.

“That not only delays a project, but it also changes the entire investment decision and narrative about South Africa.”

The minister explained that criminal syndicates are a deterrent to investment, as neither local nor international investors are willing to put capital into sites where these organisations run amok.

When Macpherson first took office, he made it a priority to crack down on extortion at construction sites across the country.

“We brought the government, law enforcement, and the construction sector together for this initiative,” he said.

“Everyone told me not to go down this road, as the construction mafia was too dangerous and powerful, and that I was wasting my time,” he said.

“I wasn’t prepared to accept that. Since then, more than 770 cases of construction-related extortion and intimidation have been reported.”

These intimidation and extortion-related cases have led to over 241 arrests and 176 convictions.

KwaZulu-Natal was one of the worst-affected provinces. Before the crackdown, there were often 60 or more reported disruptions at building sites every month. Macpherson said that cases have dropped to just 10 per month in the last two years.

Road projects shut down by construction mafias

There have been multiple high-profile cases of transport infrastructure projects being disrupted by construction mafias over the last five years.

In 2025, a R550-million tender to revamp the Golden Highway Bridge in Gauteng was halted by criminals who assaulted workers on the site.

This included members of local taxi organisations, who demanded a cut of the project funds. The Gauteng Transport MEC allegedly suggested that the workers should rely on the taxis for transport.

LoneRock, the company that was awarded the tender, met with local business members, taxi associations, and politicians, who all demanded a cut of the funds.

The police also attended the meeting but were allegedly asked to leave by the ward councillors. Nothing discussed at the meeting was resolved.

In 2023, several road development projects related to the MyCiti bus rollout in Cape Town were shut down by construction mafias. In one case, a worker was murdered by the criminals.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has also confirmed that at least four national road rehabilitation projects were abandoned between 2018 and 2024 due to threats and intimidation tactics.

Even small projects like pothole repairs are often harassed by local community leaders, who demand to be “involved” in the process.

Macpherson’s response has been to deploy specialised police units and reform local procurement laws to crack down on this type of criminal activity.