Parliament reveals R1.48bn in CoCT projects hit by construction mafia

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23-09-2026
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Cape Town Etc
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12 construction and infrastructure projects in the City of Cape Town were affected by extortion over the past five financial years, while 16 were affected by intimidation and a further 14 were recorded under construction-mafia activity, Cape {town} Etc reports.

The figures come from Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia in response to a parliamentary question from ActionSA MP Dereleen James on 15 September.

Together, the three categories account for 42 project entries with a combined rand value of R1.483 billion.  ‘No (0) arrests have been made. No (0) arrests have resulted in convictions,’ Cachalia said.

The figures arrive as the City continues to report disruption linked to extortion. In September, the City said 15 municipal projects were affected by extortion, with at least five stopped, while another 17 projects faced interference from business forums.

Cachalia’s parliamentary response also says extortion cases at construction sites are handled by Organised Crime Investigations within Detective Services, with dedicated prosecutors assigned in each province.

The latest figures give Cape Town residents and contractors a clearer picture of the scale of reported project interference over the past five financial years, while the lack of arrests recorded in the response leaves the enforcement picture unchanged for the projects covered.

Cape Town’s construction extortion problem has been documented for several years, with a 2024 report tracing the first high-profile Western Cape incident to a R2.4 billion oil storage project in Saldanha Bay in 2019, before similar activity spread to construction and infrastructure projects across Cape Town.