Several cases have been opened with the SAPS regarding extortion and incidents of violence that have hampered housing projects in the province. Still, not a single arrest has been made, according to provincial officials.
The Department of Human Settlements said it was now spending approximately R16 million a month on additional security at the sites due to the incidents.
Over the past five years, 25 projects undertaken by the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements have been affected by incidents of violence, extortion and intimidation, according to Graig-Lee Smith, spokesperson for MEC for Human Settlements Tertuis Simmers.
The projects, designed to help curb the housing crisis, were based in Eerste River, Blue Down, Delft, Strand, Athlone, and Mitchells Plain.
Elsewhere in the province, housing projects in Swartland, Cederberg, and Drakenstein municipalities have also been targeted.
Smith said that in 2022 projects in Gugulethu and Blue Downs had also been impacted.
In a written response to a question put to him by MPL and chairperson of the standing committee on human settlements Matlhodi Maseko, Simmers said five cases of threats, extortion, violent conduct and intimidation had been laid with the police.
Two cases related to projects in Luyolo and Tambo Village were opened at Gugulethu, while three were instituted at Manenberg police stations.
Other projects hit by the criminals included one in Blue Downs for military veterans and another in Forest Village.
“Violence sometimes erupts on and around the construction sites, resulting in damage to people and/or property, and this is usually what gets reported as crime to the SAPS. My department is not aware of any arrests made," Simmers said.
Smith added that work on projects often had to come to a halt and only began again once additional security had been implemented.
“Any work stoppage on developments impacts on the overall delivery of human settlements to Western Cape residents and delays delivery of housing opportunities to the most vulnerable in our communities,” he said.
Mayco member for human settlements Malusi Booi said “several” City projects had also been affected by extortion, gangsterism and criminality.
However, he did not specify the projects.
He added that thousands of beneficiaries had lost opportunities to own a house owing to unlawful occupation, which severely impacted those affected by it.
However, Smith said extortion or attempted extortion was difficult to make a case for and report as a crime to the SAPS.
Owing to the “allegedly behind-the-scenes” nature of extortion, Smith said it was it difficult to identify individuals for responsible for it.
“The department ensures that additional security is appointed where needed and will also continue to work closely with the SAPS, law enforcement authorities, and various stakeholders to find a solution going forward,” he added.
Police watchdog group Action Society refuted claims it was difficult to investigate extortion incidents, and said the lack of action was due to a lack of political will to deal with the crime.
“Extortion in South Africa happens so openly that you can’t help but identify the suspect. If the police had decent crime intelligence capacity, they could have done something about it,” said Action Society’s director of community safety, Ian Cameron.
Cameron said even the detectives who had done their jobs gave up after a while because of failures in the justice system.
“Kidnapping and extortion are on the rise and go hand in glove with organised crime in general. While we hear about kidnapping and extortion teams being set up in Cape Town, it’s not enough in terms of the national crisis,” he said.
Weekend Argus