South Africa has a construction mafia problem, and it’s time to grab our hard hats and get serious about it. Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson is rolling up his sleeves and saying “enough is enough” to the thugs turning our building sites into their personal piggy banks.
In a move that’s music to the ears of anyone who’s ever tried to build so much as a sandcastle in peace, Macpherson’s giving a big thumbs up to Cape Town’s new tag-team approach to tackling these concrete cowboys.
‘Construction mafia’
The city’s joining forces with big guns like Atterbury and Old Mutual to show these extortionists the door.
“From my very first day in office, I have been clear,” Macpherson declared. “Government would not be negotiating with criminals such as the construction mafia, but would rather work with all role-players to address this scourge in our communities.”
It’s refreshing to hear a politician talk tough without immediately backpedaling, isn’t it?
But here’s the kicker: this isn’t just about Cape Town putting on its superhero cape. Macpherson’s got his sights set on a nationwide smackdown.
A national smackdown
He’s planning pow-wows with the mayors of Cape Town and eThekwini, hoping to spread this anti-mafia magic across the country.
Now, let’s not kid ourselves. Turning South Africa into one big, happy construction site isn’t going to be a walk in the park.
But Macpherson’s got a plan: rope in the cops, sic the taxman on these goons, and get everyone and their ouma involved in the fight.
Safeguarding SA’s construction sites
“It’s time to turn South Africa into a construction site,” Macpherson proclaimed, especially if we want to grow the economy and create jobs. But this can only happen “if we break the back of the construction mafia.”
It’s a lofty goal, sure, but if we can just get these hardhat hoodlums off our backs, who knows? We might just build ourselves a country that doesn’t fall apart faster than we can put it together.
So, here’s to hoping this public-private partnership is the wrecking ball our construction mafia problem needs.
After all, if we’re going to build South Africa, we might as well do it without looking over our shoulders for guys unscrupulous characters demanding their cut.
