South Africa strikes 13 more contractors off its register over false grading applications
South Africa's Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has removed 13 contractors from its National Register of Contractors after finding they misrepresented information when applying for higher grades. Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson said Oct. 27 that more than 75 firms have now been removed since June 2024.
The CIDB board voted the removals on Oct. 15, using powers in sections 19(1) and 19(2) of the 2000 law that created the board, which let it strike contractors that break registration conditions or got a grade through misrepresentation, according to SAnews, the government news service. Removed firms can no longer work for the state. Grades run from 1 to 9 and rate a contractor's finances and track record, which decides how large and complex a public job it may take on. The 13 firms held grades across that range.
The best known is Moriel Infrastructure Group, which held grades including 8CE, 8SB and 8SK, The National reported. According to the CIDB, top grades allow contracts of up to R200 million. Macpherson said the board opened its Moriel investigation in 2025, before a September video of the company's then executive chairman allegedly threatening women at a Johannesburg restaurant drew national attention. Moriel later removed him. His criminal case is pending and is separate from the registration matter. The company was given a chance to respond before the board ruled.
The other 12 are Batho Vanhu Construction, BBM Khanye Holdings, Exxeding Grace, Ithembalenkosi, King Tar Construction, Lethabo Africa Engineering, Magagamela Trade and Projects, RTZ Construction and Projects, Salinkata Trading, Shumani Development, TMR Industrial Solutions and Yem Yem Projects and Plant Hire.
Macpherson said just one contractor was blacklisted between 2002 and June 2024, and that an audit of every graded company is underway. The CIDB is adding checks on higher-risk and higher-grade applications and will confirm details with banks and public-sector clients instead of taking applicants' paperwork at face value. Cases of proven fraud or forgery go to law enforcement. The department also wants public owners to register their projects with the CIDB, as the law already requires, so contractors' claims can be checked against a project database.
Why it matters: Owners and primes that prequalify subs on paperwork alone carry the same risk. Checking claimed revenue and past jobs directly with banks and former clients, as the CIDB now does, is a step any US prequalification process can copy.
Sources
- Construction companies removed from the cidb registerSAnews, Oct 27
- Moriel Infrastructure Group among 13 contractors removed from CIDB registerThe National, Oct 27