‘All hands on deck’ to take out criminal mafias in South Africa
The South African Police Service (SAPS) is seeking an all-hands-on-deck approach to controlling the country’s worsening extortion crisis, including working much closer with other entities and tightening some pieces of legislation.
Police minister Senzo Mchunu outlined this speaking to Parliament on 3 September on the actions taken by the SAPS to deal with the threat of “the current wave of extortion and related crimes.”
“Extortions [have] now reached levels where all communities in our country… have become very angry, bitter and agitated,” said Mchunu.
“Most are individuals who do not want to work but rather choose to parade as armies of murderous parasites that must be fought and rejected by society as a whole.
“They are often armed, operating in groups who instil fear and chaos [and] the relative silence of communities and low reporting is all due to these fears,” added the minister.
While extortion at some large construction projects and businesses often grabs the headlines, Mchunu said that SAPS is increasingly seeing “shocking incidents of the lowest levels of morality.”
This includes reports of church services, funerals, family-related events, pensioners, those receiving money from the Road Accident Fund and grants, healthcare facilities, and schools, among others, that are targeted by violent extortionists.
“Extortion is a rapidly escalating threat that affects every single layer of society in South Africa. It is deeply rooted and an issue that is jeopardising our economic stability and tears at the social fabric of every part of our country,” said the Chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron.
SAPS crackdown
One of the ways forward SAPS is going for is through cooperative agreements with provincial and local governments with operational plans all seeking to integrate resources against extortionists.
Currently, the operational plan is being rolled out in Cape Town, which has been divided into six subdistricts.
Mchunu said that this will “make it much easier to police these areas jointly with city police, private companies, CPFs and more.”
Recent successful police operations in this regard include one in Milnerton, Cape Town, where crime intelligence led to the arrest of extortionist suspects. During the confrontation, a shootout occurred, resulting in the fatal injury of four suspects, however several others survived and were apprehended by police.
In the Eastern Cape, operations are underway and focusing on Mthatha and Nelson Mandela Bay on similar crimes, including illegal occupation of buildings and stock theft, among others.
Twelve cases in these areas have recently been reported, and investigations are underway.
In Gauteng, Soweto has also received attention for extortion incidents, and in Mpumalanga, three arrests were recently made in cases of extortion and fighting over turf for the same purpose.
The minister said that the operational plan that seeks to integrate resources will be rolled out across the country, particularly in metros and the provinces of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape, which currently carry 73% of crime levels in South Africa.
However, Mchunu said that due to the violent and threatening nature of these extortionists, having victims report crimes is an upward battle, and thus identifying them is difficult.
“There are more extortions going on in communities than what meets the eye. This requires more intelligent operations from our side [and] we know that we have to improve and strengthen intelligence on our side,” said the minister.
However, he believes that the launch of initiatives such as toll-free hotlines to report such cases will turn this around.
They said that they are also meeting with other sister departments to improve their synergy in fighting crime, with a deadline for a plan set for October.
Additionally, legislation reviews are currently underway of numerous Acts; including attempts to crack the whip on parole, which Mchunu said is often too lenient on criminals.
Government contracts under siege
The Western Cape province has been identified as having a serious issue with extortion mafias.
In response to a recent question posed by the DA’s Dirk Wessels, Western Cape MEC of Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers disclosed that extortionists are targeting 6 Western Cape Government construction sites worth R390.8 million.
It is important to note that these figures focus on extortion in construction only, thus the figure of the impact of extortion as a whole in the province is exponentially higher.
Regardless, extortion has meant that government housing and schooling projects have been delayed by as much as 3 years.
| Project: | Value: | Project delay |
| Driftsands Relocations Project (Site A) | R21.42 million | 6 weeks of project delays |
| Airport Infills (Luyolo, Tambo Village sites) | R248 million | 19 months of project delays |
| Management, Maintenance and Security of TRA 5, 5.1 and 6 in Delft South | R12 million | No delays. |
| Valpark Primary School | R3.74 million | 3-year delay. Contract terminated. Phase 2 is being initiated. |
| Ravensmead CDC replacement | R105.28 million | 6 months. |
| Clarke Primary School | R386,183 | 3-year delay. Phase 2 is being initiated. |
On top of the collaboration with the SAPS, the Department of Infrastructure in the Western Cape said has implemented a prevention plan which involves collaboration with internal stakeholders and external entities such as project steering committees and ward councillors.
“The plan has already proven effective in mitigating the impact of extortion in several key municipalities within the province,” said Simmers.
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