Renewed efforts to end extortion

Establishing ways to fight the scourge of extortion, which is fast becoming the new currency of control, crippling communities through fear and financial ruin, topped the agenda at a Multi-Sectoral Anti-Extortion Summit held recently.

- KAYLYNNE BANTOM

Convened by the Western Cape Government the summit, held in Century City on Tuesday 17 June, aimed to assess the impact of extortion on the province's economy as well as identify gaps in how law-enforcement authorities are addressing it.

Stakeholders attending the discussion included officials from several provincial government departments, the City of Cape Town, South African Police Service (Saps), representatives of the business community and civil society.

In a press statement Premier Alan Winde highlighted that late last year about R400 million in infrastructure projects in the province were halted due to extortion.

"This is intolerable," he declared. "We must recommit to working closer together to hit back at these criminals. One way in which we can do this is by giving provinces and municipalities more of a say in policing, adequately resourcing the police in our province - with crime intelligence significantly bolstered - and by properly capacitating the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)."

Winde said in recent years extortion has evolved from isolated incidents into an organised systemic pattern of criminality.

He added that construction sites were among the main targets of "extortion mafias" with the public-transport sector and hospitality industry also under attack.