Previous research, media reports, and anecdotal evidence indicate that the South African construction industry is underperforming and experiencing major challenges. A study was conducted among a range of construction industry stakeholders in South Africa to determine their rating of the South African construction industry relative to 76 aspects, and their view of the top ten challenges in terms of improving the performance, growth, and development of the South African construction industry. A self-administered questionnaire was delivered per e-mail to a range of stakeholders nationwide, which constituted a convenience sample. The findings originate from respondents representing 33 occupations and 21 stakeholder groups. Findings include: the South African construction industry is rated above average relative to 18 of 76 (23.7%) aspects; the top five rated aspects / factors are competitiveness, construction process, health and safety (H&S) on projects, conditions of contract, and remuneration (Management / Built Environment Professionals); mitigating corruption was ranked last, and the top five challenges are training / skills, procurement / tendering, corruption, payment, and H&S. Conclusions include: the construction industry in South Africa has been captured; the challenges experienced have persisted for some time; the construction industry is not a ‘playground’, which means that construction is a science, art, craft, and profession, and education and training, or training are a pre-requisite for participation, and corruption eventually ‘kills a country’ and ‘kills an industry’. Recommendations include: the South African construction industry should implement a ‘back to basics’ programme and conduct system thinking analysis of the state of the South African construction industry to identify the implications of current policy, legislation, and interventions, and identify the necessary future policy, legislative, and interventions to extricate the South African construction industry from its current demise.