A notorious business formation that often employs hostile tactics to demand lucrative government tenders in KwaZulu-Natal is running amok.
Just after it emerged that Amadelangokubona Business Forum has stopped a R37.8-million construction tender at Menzi Comprehensive High, a school based in Umlazi, another project has been held at ransom apparently by the grouping.
As a result, the KwaDukuza local municipality has resorted to hiring private security guards to man its R29-million bridge project after allegations that the construction mafia had asked for their share.
DA councillor in the municipality Privi Makhan said the bridge is part of disaster-funded projects to aid the north coast-based council to repair and reconstruct infrastructure damaged during the deadly floods in April 2021.
“The Pro Secure Riot Unit is allegedly protecting the area surrounding the site. The DA in KwaDukuza will use all mechanisms at our disposal to ensure that the integrity of disaster-funded projects is not compromised by self-serving individuals,” said Makhan on Thursday.
The Menzi Comprehensive High is one of the top-performing schools in KwaZulu-Natal, achieving a 100% matric pass rate for the past decade.
The business forum is alleged to have demanded a 30% payment without performing any work, leading the construction company to abandoning the project. The group arrives at construction sites with a convoy of vehicles and armed to the teeth.
In June, Public Works Minister Sihle Zikalala lambasted unscrupulous elements who hijack projects, saying the department would unleash an economic sabotage unit to stop them in their tracks.
The unit falls under the SA Police Service and deals specifically with crimes related to economic sabotage.
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