Pretoria – The number of contractors blacklisted and removed from the National Register of Contractors has risen to more than 60, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has revealed.
Briefing reporters on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, Minister Macpherson said the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has intensified its efforts to identify and remove contractors who have misrepresented themselves or breached the conditions of their registration.
“This is down to the solid, stable and competent leadership we have in the entity,” he said.
The minister said he was not interested in removing contractors for the sake of producing impressive statistics.
“I am interested in ensuring that the companies entrusted with public infrastructure have the qualifications, experience and financial capacity they claim to possess,” Minister Macpherson said.
“Our objective is to protect the public purse, safeguard the quality and safety of infrastructure and restore confidence in procurement processes.
“Today, I can announce that the cidb Board resolved on 15 October 2026 to remove a further 13 construction companies from the National Register of Contractors following findings of misrepresentation in their applications to upgrade their registration grades”.
Minister Macpherson said these enforcement actions now bring the total to 75 contractors who have been removed from the register for breaches of registration requirements in two years.
He said this was a decisive break with the past.
“To understand the significance of the work we are doing, we need to look at how the situation has changed over the past two decades,” explained Minister Macpherson.
“Between 2002 and June 2024, only one contractor was blacklisted from doing business with the state by the CIDB.
“That is a period of more than 20 years in which enforcement against contractors reached this level only once.”
Minister Macpherson emphasised that the CIDB has an important responsibility to protect the integrity of the construction industry’s registration system.
He said the approach must go beyond reacting to allegations after a contractor has already secured public work.
“We need to identify fraudulent applications, verify claims before approvals are granted, and intervene when evidence of wrongdoing emerges,” he said.
The CIDB is strengthening its scrutiny of registration applications, particularly those involving higher-risk applications and higher grading designations.
This includes introducing an additional audit and verification layer into the registration process.
“We are also moving towards more direct verification of information submitted by contractors,” said Minister Macpherson, who was flanked by CIDB Board Chairperson, Khulile Nzo, and CIDB CEO Bongani Dladla.
“Rather than relying solely on documents supplied by an applicant, claims about previous projects and financial capability must be checked with the relevant client departments, issuing banks and other institutions.
“This represents an important shift for the entity in becoming more proactive as opposed to reactive.
“Where suspected fraud or forgery is established, administrative action must be accompanied by referrals to law enforcement authorities where appropriate.”
Minister Macpherson said removing an errant contractor from the register was an important regulatory intervention, but suspected criminal conduct must also be dealt with through the relevant legal processes.
