Battling extortion and an unfriendly financial environment are some of the challenges barring women from participating in the construction sector.
These revelations emerged yesterday during the launch of She Builds, an advisory body that represents women’s interests in the construction and built environment space.
Nokuthula Ndawonde, who runs a small construction business, recalled how she had to abandon a project in northern KwaZulu-Natal after threats from an extortion ring.
“Armed men stormed the construction site and demanded to have a share of the money,” she said.
The men, she said, found the workers but demanded to see her, as she was not there. “Fortunately, I was not on the site, but I was left shaken and feared for my life,” said Ndawonde.
“I made a decision to abandon the work because the threats to my life were serious. These people are ruthless and do not hesitate to kill.”
Ndawonde said what surprised her was that she was a sub-contractor, and the main contractor, a man, did not receive any threats or hostility. “I was targeted because I am a woman and perceived as a soft target. They demanded money I did not have. I was not the main contractor on the project,” she said.
Ndawonde is not the only woman who has faced the wrath of the so-called construction mafias.
Tholie Cibane, a well-established contractor and chairperson of the KZN Chapter of the South African Women in Construction, said the organisation was inundated with cases where women contractors wree threatened. “It’s not only now; this thing has been there for a long time,” she told Sowetan.
“Small enterprises owned by women are seen as easy targets. I have many cases where our members had to leave their equipment behind because of safety reasons. Some areas are regarded as no-go areas for women contractors.”
The construction mafias are known to instill fear by invading construction sites, demanding a slice of the pie. It has, however, partially fizzled out after the KZN government of provincial unity declared war on them, vowing it won’t negotiate with the groups.
The programme, a brainchild of the KZN department of public works and infrastructure, seeks to advance the protection and participation of women in the sector still dominated by men.
The statistics released by Stats SA for Quarter 2 painted a grim picture, showing that while the construction sector had recorded growth, men made up 88.6% of the workforce, while women were only represented by 11.4%.
KZN MEC for public works and infrastructure Martin Meyer also conceded that the construction mafias had shifted focus, and were now targeting women-owned businesses. “It turns out that as we were winning the war against this criminal act, its instigators were shifting and focusing on women-run projects, thinking they would be easy targets,” he said.
”This meant a strategy focus had to be redesigned with law enforcement officials and private security.”
Meyer, who has been scathing against extortion rings since he took office in 2024, found a bullet placed in his office and another near his car; the work that was alleged to have been of the construction mafias.
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