Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has confirmed that the Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) board has resolved to remove 13 additional construction companies from the National Register of Contractors, following findings of misrepresentation in their applications to upgrade their registration grades.

This brings the number of contractors that have been removed to 75 in just over two years.

During a media briefing on October 27, the Minister provided an update on the cidb’s efforts to blacklist nonperforming contractors from doing business with the State.

Since 2024, the cidb has intensified its efforts to review its register of contractors and strengthen accountability across the construction sector.

These efforts aim to ensure that contractors entrusted with public infrastructure projects meet the required standards, deliver on their contractual obligations and are held accountable when they fail to do so.

“For too long, the construction industry has been undermined by nonperformance, misrepresentation and a lack of consequences for those who fail to meet their obligations. 

“Public money has been wasted on projects that are delayed, abandoned or poorly executed and honest contractors who play by the rules have been forced to compete against those who manipulate the system, which is not fair. This is something that needed to change and has been a key focus of ours over the last two years,” Macpherson said.

He described the cidb Register of Contractors as an important safeguard in public procurement, noting that it provided a framework for assessing the technical capability and financial capacity of construction businesses before they undertook work at different levels of value and complexity.

However, he noted that the safeguard was only effective if the information submitted to the cidb is accurate and could be independently verified. 

Historically, he said, the registration process had relied on documentation being submitted by applicants, including letters of project award, project completion certificates, bank statements and audited financial instruments.

“[With] documents sometimes falsified, a contractor may secure a grading designation that it has not genuinely earned and the consequences are serious,” he warned, explaining that government may award work to a company that does not have the experience, resources or financial strength to deliver the project.

“This creates risks of delays, abandoned projects, financial losses and, in some instances, threats to safety and the quality of public infrastructure. 

“Ultimately, it's ordinary South Africans who bear the cost when public infrastructure fails to materialise or has been repaired because the work was not delivered to the required standard in the first instance.”

Macpherson described the removal of a contractor from the register as an important regulatory intervention, adding that suspected criminal conduct must also be dealt with through the relevant legal processes. 

“Enforcement against fraudulent contractors is necessary, but it won't be sufficient on its own. We must also address the weaknesses that allow misrepresentation to take place in the first place.”

Macpherson highlighted that one of the most significant problems was poor compliance by public sector clients with their obligation to register construction projects with the cidb.

While the cidb Act mandates public sector clients to register construction projects, the Minister pointed out that compliance with this reporting requirement is below 30%.

“We make a plea to clients, to government departments and [State-owned enterprises] to comply with this important part of the Act, so that we are able to work in collaboration. This needs an urgent, all-of-government approach. We cannot do this alone.”

Macpherson reiterated that the objective was to achieve a more complete, verified national database of construction projects and awards, making it easier to cross-check the information contractors submitted against independently recorded evidence. 

“Our campaign is not directed against the construction industry. South Africa needs a strong, capable and competitive construction industry. We desperately need that. 

“We need businesses that can build roads, schools, hospitals, government offices and the infrastructure that supports economic growth. We need to ensure the playing fields in the industry are level and fair,” the Minister stated.

“We will continue working with the cidb, public sector clients and law enforcement authorities to strengthen verification, improve compliance and ensure that wrongdoing is dealt with. 

“My commitment and our commitment is straightforward. When government awards a construction contract, we must have the confidence that the contractor has the capability, the capacity and the ability to deliver the work that is required.

“That is how we protect public money, that is how we improve infrastructure delivery and that is how we begin to rebuild trust in the built environment,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, cidb chairperson Khulile Nzo reiterated that the register iwas an important procurement risk mitigation tool, providing public sector clients with assurance regarding the capability, experience and financial standing of contractors seeking to undertake the construction projects.

Nzo noted that, beyond enforcement, the cidb was focused on strengthening its systems.

This includes improved verification measures, enhanced quality assurance processes, stronger controls and ongoing collaboration with stakeholders across the construction industry.

As part of its broader reform agenda, the cidb is introducing an additional audit and verification layer to strengthen scrutiny of higher-risk applications and applications for higher grading designations.

“Today's announcement is not an indictment of South Africa's construction industry. It is evidence that the cidb is carrying out its responsibility of protecting the integrity of the register, safeguarding fair competition and holding wrongdoing to account.

“We are not guaranteeing absence of misconduct, but where misconduct has been established, we are taking decisive action. The overwhelming majority of contractors are honest, capable and committed to building South Africa's future. They deserve a procurement environment that rewards proven capability, integrity and fair competition,” he added.

State-owned South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral), in a media release, says the cidb’s findings have a direct impact on its investigation of a contractor that has done work for the roads agency and been removed from the cidb's National Register of Contractors.

Sanral says that, as a consequence, it will follow a contract termination process with the contractor.

“Findings by another organ of State – particularly because they go to the nub of eligibility to do with business with Sanral – will certainly influence the roads entity’s own investigation and outcome.

“Sanral appreciates the work done by the cibd on an area that falls within its mandate, and its findings will certainly be considered,” says Sanral marketing and communications GM Vusi Mona.