A City Under Siege: How Construction Mafias Are Strangling Johannesburg

The story of Lucinda Harman, the councillor for Ward 102 in Johannesburg, is more than a political resignation. It is a stark symptom of a city in the grip of a silent war. Her decision to step down, driven by relentless intimidation and a complete lack of support, exposes how criminal syndicatesknown as construction mafiasare systematically dismantling governance in South Africa’s economic heart.

Harman’s ward includes affluent areas like the Randburg CBD and Bryanston, but no address is immune to the crisis. She described a city collapsing under factional battles, legal threats, and chronic intimidation, where ward councillors are murdered over lucrative government contracts or “die because of the stress.”

The Breaking Point: The Selkirk Project

The catalyst for Harman’s ordeal was the R200-million Selkirk housing project on the border of Ferndale and Blairgowrie. The project attracted the attention of criminal elements who conspire with political parties to control local tenders. When they don’t get their way, the response is intimidation and, in some cases, murder.

Despite raising the alarm with Mayor Dada Morero, council leadership, provincial police, and her own Democratic Alliance party, Harman said she was left entirely alone. “It became impossible to do your work as a ward councillor. I was tired of intimidation. I was tired of dysfunctionality,” she stated in a radio interview.

The constant threats took a severe toll, landing her in the hospital. “After two weeks in hospital, I came out and realised it was time to resign,” she said. Her last day is 30 November. She didn’t want to quit, but the decision was made for her. “When you’re on your own, and there’s nobody behind you, it’s very difficult to carry on because you realise that you’re fighting a battle that is probably going to cost you your life.”

A Citywide Crisis of Inaction

Harman’s case is not isolated. She participated in council meetings about protection services for councillors, warning that many of her colleagues’ lives are at risk. Yet, she claims, “Nothing’s been done about it.” A council protection policy has been stalled since 2021. “It’s just discussion after discussion. There’s no implementation,” she said, adding that Mayor Morero is “fully aware” but not taking action.

This governance vacuum has allowed critical infrastructuretraffic lights, roads, water, and sewage systemsto decay to a point where much of it needs to be rebuilt from scratch.

A National Fight Back

These syndicates, often euphemistically calling themselves “business forums,” operate by intimidating developers into handing over a portion of the work. Their reach is national, disrupting everything from housing projects to fibre optic rollouts, with some gangs even taking staff hostage at gunpoint.

In a sign of hope, national government has begun to push back. Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean MacPherson, has declared a war on construction mafias. “There’s no room for negotiation. There’s no room for talks. We just need to get on with the job,” he stated, despite receiving death threats himself.

His department’s crackdown is showing results. As of October, over 850 arrests have been made and 240 convictions secured, leading to an 80% decline in lost construction hours in some areas.

But for councillors like Lucinda Harman on the front lines, the national response has come too late. Her resignation is a chilling indicator of the price being paid for the city’s soula battle not just for contracts, but for the very foundation of law and order.

{Source: MyBroadband}

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