Construction mafia: Mushrooming 'business forums' hold Gauteng projects worth billions ransom

Construction projects in Gauteng, worth nearly R2 billion, are under threat as construction mafias, once centred in KwaZulu-Natal, proliferate throughout the country.

As the ground is broken on both private and public sector projects in the province, groups that call themselves "business forums" arrive to demand subcontracts, worth 30% of the project's value, threatening violence if they are not cut in on the deals.

News24 visited four construction sites from a large retail project in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, to massive provincial government developments around Randfontein, in Rand West City, and heard from senior construction employees how their projects were being disrupted by business forums who refused to play by the rules.