Western Cape lost R160m to extortion
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PLIGHT: MEC Simmers. Picture: Brendan Magaar/African News Agency (ANA)
Millions of taxpayers’ rands are being spent to fight the construction mafia in the Western Cape.
The Department of Infrastructure’s Human Settlements branch has spent more than R160 million on security to fight extortionists, and prevent the illegal occupation of vacant land and homes under construction.
Infrastructure MEC Tertuis Simmers told the Legislature that the department faced heightened security risks due to the disruptions and stoppages of projects through the extortion tactics of the construction mafia, reports the Cape Argus.
Presenting his department’s 2022/23 end-of-year performance outcomes, Simmers said: “By the end of the year, the department spent more than R161.7 million on security to mitigate this scourge, with 125 housing opportunities being lost.”
Standing committee on infrastructure chairperson Matlhodi Maseko (DA) alleged there was a political connection to the construction mafia.
Maseko said: “Here in the Western Cape, it is a well-known allegation that there are certain political parties who play an active role in extortion in some communities, and we look forward to the law running its course.”
Simmers said there were currently eight ongoing investigations into cases of extortion related to construction activities in Cape Town, including four cases in Manenberg, one in Delft, one in Milnerton and two in Gugulethu.
Simmers said the cases were centred on unlawful material supply, site security breaches, demolitions and acts of intimidation, adding that the problem was not just in the Western Cape but countrywide.