On Thursday, Hill-Lewis launched the campaign at an extortion-impacted project to construct new MyCiTi depots in Khayelitsha, which is one of a number of affected infrastructure projects. The construction of the new MyCiTi depots in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain has faced multiple extortion attempts since May and the R60-million project has been set back by several weeks.
Increased attacks by the so-called ”extortion mafia” on construction workers at major building projects are impacting multimillion-rand projects across the metro. In February a City official, Wendy Kloppers, was shot and killed at a housing project in Delft. Kloppers worked at the City's environmental affairs department and there is suspicion that she may have been mistaken for a woman who had received a construction tender from the city. The city has posted a R1m reward for any information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of those responsible.
As part of “Enough is Enough”, the city has set up a 24-hour hotline and a rewards system to encourage residents to help tackle extortion.
"Demands for 'protection fees' from local extortionists are impeding both basic service delivery and major infrastructure projects. We are determined to prevent disruptions to services by partnering with communities as our eyes and ears to root out local extortionists and paying out cash rewards for valuable tip-offs leading to arrest and prosecution," Hill-Lewis said.
According to the city, an estimated R110m in human settlement project work has been impacted by extortionists, whose methods include violence as they extort. They are sometimes referred to as the “construction mafia”.
"Law enforcement is regularly escorting city teams and contractors on request in hotspot areas, and additional project security requirements have been built into project contracts. Our staff and contractors are under instruction to make sure that any extortion attempts are reported to authorities every single time, so that we build a case record and push back against the criminals harming the interests of communities.
"Extortion is large-scale organised crime run by well-oiled and very lucrative syndicates. The only way to stand up for ourselves is to stand together against these criminals," the mayor said.
"We believe that local extortionists are well known in their communities and that there are enough people out there with information to help us arrest those responsible. Importantly, tip-offs can be anonymous, and residents can report information in good conscience that they are not endangering themselves or their families."
