MEC hails KZN community for resisting construction mafia
KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements MEC Sipho Nkosi has commended the community of Nkungwini for successfully standing its ground against a notorious construction mafia.
The MEC’s remarks are in relation to an R28 million renovation project at Zombizwe High School in the rural area of the Umkhanyakude district.
Nkosi says the community, led by the local traditional leadership of Inkosi Mngomezulu, banded together to oppose and raise the alarm when the group started making monetary demands in order to benefit from the construction work at the school for around 800 pupils.
READ: Construction mafias costing govt billions - Zikalala
The MEC says the construction mafia has become a cause for concern in the province.
"We should be worried because there are a number of projects that get disrupted, but with the intervention of Inkosi and Izinduna and the progressiveness of the community, they were able to follow the procedures in terms of applying for subcontracting.
"It is illegal for anyone to demand the 30% without doing the work."
