Threats and attempts of extortion remain a thorn in the side of the City of Cape Town.
This is after City staff and contractors had to be withdrawn from Eerste River on Friday while carrying out a public lighting project.
Describing the “alarming” incident, Beverley van Reenen, Mayco member for Energy, says City staff and contractors were “violently threatened” while carrying out a much-needed public lighting project in the community.
“Our teams work hard to ensure that we attend to public lighting in all areas of the metro, and it is sad to see them being threatened with violence while delivering these essential services in our communities,” she said.
No physical injuries were reported and a case is believed to have been registered at a police station in the area.
However, SAPS spokesperson FC van Wyk has indicated that there was no record of the incident reported.
“Kindly be advised that this office has no record of this matter,” he stated.
Herberth Kemp, chairperson of the Kleinvlei Community Policing Forum, says they are looking into the matter.
“I have heard about it but I haven’t got confirmation that it did happen,” Kemp said.
“Nobody contacted me about that, I will certainly find out.”
Meanwhile, Van Reenen said the City staff have been temporarily withdrawn from the area and will return once it is safe to do so.
“When these incidents occur, our teams temporarily withdraw from the area and return with security or when it is safe to do so. This can result in project delays.
“We condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms and urge the community to come forward with information so that guilty parties can be held accountable for their actions,” Van Reenen added.