South Africa construction workers who may have thought about breaking the law, should think twice. They will now be monitored by drones. The Department of Infrastructure Development at Gauteng, launched a fleet of drones to monitor construction projects to make sure all employees are following the law. The first drone was launched on May 21st to monitor about 340 construction projects owned by the government. These projects are all scheduled to be completed in the next three years and will cost the country about $360 million total.

With such a huge investment, the government wants to keep an eye on all of its projects to ensure that corruption does not increase their bottom line. Jacob Mamobolo is in charge of the project and stated that it is possible for the public sector to be efficient as well as productive in construction projects. By using these drones, Mamonbolo’s team can monitor the quality of work on the sites and also make sure that projects are completed within their approved timeline.

Mamobolo started the that the goal is to make site inspections more efficient and the drones will be a giant step towards a new industrial revolution that will put South Africa on the map of drone technology.

One reason for the creation of this program is in response to a large scandal that took place back in 2010 which shook the South African government and it’s construction industry. It was the largest corruption scandal in the country and involved the construction of the World Cup stadium.  The government exposed a plot that involved several construction companies who colluded together to increase the costs of the stadium construction job by over $1 billion dollars.

Across South Africa, corruption can increase the cost of infrastructure by a whopping 40% according to the CEO of the global construction hub, Chris Heathcote. These projects are intended to stimulate the nation’s construction industry, but due to the rampant corruption, the construction industry of South Africa has been dragging the economy down.

Drones are making a difference in all sectors throughout the world and it is refreshing to see that they can be used by the construction industry in order to monitor job sites. Drones are being used for site inspections, quality control, material assessment and aerial surveillance. Fighting corruption is a new angle for drones and one that will certainly become common though out the world.

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