EFF Councillor Accused of Employing Construction Mafia Tactics to Extort R6m From Mpumalanga Contractor

• An EFF councillor has been accused of trying to extort R6 million from a construction company in Mpumalanga
• Nyankwabe Thomas Mnisi is allegedly the leader of a group that employs construction mafia tactics in Mbombela
• The councillor claims that he was asking for the money on behalf of the Mataffin community

MBOMBELA - A contractor in Mbombela Mpumalanga is making damaging allegations against an Economic Freedom Fighter councillor.

According to Saul Siwela of White Hazy Construction, EFF councillor Nyankwabe Thomas Mnisi tried to extort R6 million from his company, or he will “wake up in a mortuary”.

White Hazy Construction is responsible for building a R300 million parliamentary village in the Mataffin. Mnisi is a councillor in that area.

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EFF councillor secretly recorded while trying to extort construction company

In an alleged secret recording, Mnisi demanded that the contractor pay him 30% of the contract or else the contractor would be forced to vacate the site.

According to SowetanLIVE, the EFF councillor allegedly leads a group that extorts money from contractors working on government projects in the Mbombela area.

The group employs construction mafia tactics which include threatening to disrupt or shut down construction sites unless a bribe is paid.

News24 earlier reported that 183 projects that are collectively worth R63bn have been hit by extortion since 2019.

EFF councillor claims to be asking for bribe on behalf of community

When confronted on the allegation, Mnisi admitted to asking for money but claimed he was doing it on behalf of the community.

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The EFF councillor challenged Siwela to open a criminal case against him if he thought he was being extorted, but the contractor said he did not trust the authorities to handle the issues.

The EFF said the party was unaware of the claims against its councillor but vowed to open an investigation and discipline Mnisi if the allegations are true.

South Africa weigh slam EFF councillor accused of extortion

Below are some comments:

@Sktb7816 asked:

"So the construction mafia is the EFF? Nice."

@MandoPapu demanded:

"Share the recording with some evidence that it is indeed the guy you claim it is."

@nosmoke567 said:

"Wonder if the @EFFSouthAfrica @Julius_S_Malema will act against corrupt EFF members."

@MabGee26 claimed:

"@Julius_S_Malema will say it's not their councillor but an ANC councillor."

@FighterDie questioned:

"Where is the recording?"

@MrKitsenyane stated:

"We’re going to be bamboozled with the nonsense that the thieving EFF councillor is just radically expropriating wealth without compensation."

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@elias99694825 commented:

"I thought it was only ANC comrades doing this mafia thing."

Construction mafias explained: How they operate, how dangerous they are, and other questions answered

In a simial story, Briefly News reported that construction mafias have been a terrible nightmare for construction companies who just want to finish their projects. These syndicates can go from demanding a 30% cut from companies to forcing businesses to pay a protection fee.

Briefly News looks at the construction mafia phenomenon taking over the country and the impact this has on businesses, service delivery and the country.

Construction mafias can be traced back to 2014. Various groups described as "local business forums" discovered they could force construction companies to pay a percentage of the money they received for their projects.

Source: Briefly News