KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure, Martin Meyer, has declared that the once-feared construction mafia that disrupted projects and extorted money from contractors has been decimated, and almost all projects are on track.

Speaking on Tuesday evening in Phoenix, north of Durban, Meyer provided an update on his department’s performance for the 2024-2025 financial year.

He said the upgrading of the Menzi High School in Umlazi, Durban, which had been stalled by the mafia for years, is now complete and will be handed over next month.

He added that in the past, the mafia ran amok, stating that no one was taking them on, and they had become part of the ecosystem of the department.

“You could not think of Public Works and Infrastructure without thinking of those extortionists, the construction mafia, or as I call them, plain civil criminals, crooks, skelems, because that’s all they are. You don’t read about them in the papers anymore.

“Why is that? A year ago, in this province, if you take the public and private sector combined, had 60 incidents of projects disruption per month by the construction mafia. Sixty projects per month disrupted. Now as I am standing in front of you, we are finally down to less than ten a month,” Meyer said.

Additionally, he said the drop has also been experienced nationwide.

“By the end of the 2025, we received over 770 cases of intimidation and extortion reports across the country, of those 241 arrests have been made, but most importantly, 176 people have been convicted and sent to jail, the majority in KZN.

“I can also proudly say this month sees 12 months with none of our projects disrupted at all. We haven’t won the war yet,” he said, adding that they will not back down in their bid to bring back law and order in this province once and for all.