Cape Town mayor takes on construction mafia, launches anti-extortion campaign and shifts millions to security

A 24-hour hotline to report extortion is part of a campaign that Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, with some of his committee members, has launched in an effort to tackle related crimes.

Companies wanting to do business with the city in the construction sector will come under closer scrutiny.

The campaign’s slogan is: “Enough is Enough! Genoeg is Genoeg! Kwanele!”

It was launched on Thursday in Khayelitsha at a MyCiti depot construction site which has been affected by extortion.

24-hour hotline, billboards

As part of the campaign, the municipality has set up a 24-hour hotline and rewards system to encourage residents to help authorities tackle extortion.

Reporting to the hotline – 0800 00 6992 – can be done anonymously.

Billboards are also set to be rolled out along major routes explaining how to report crimes relating to extortion.

‘Tens of millions on security’

Speaking at the launch, Hill-Lewis said: “We are spending tens of millions… I think the figure this year is R55-million in additional security, not total security, but additional security – just to protect those sites so that construction can continue.”

Read more in Daily Maverick: Cape Town tops up security budget by R15m to protect housing construction sites from gangsters

He said people, including contractors, were afraid to report extortionists and, to combat that, a useful guide had been given to local councillors that explained how conversations that could escalate to extortion began.

“We have also made amendments to our contracts for every contractor, that you may not claim any construction delays unless you have reported the matter (extortion) to the police and can provide a case number.”

The problem is so bad, said the mayor, that some tenders had not received any bidders because construction contractors feared they would be targeted after they had been awarded tenders.

Cape Town, like other parts of the country, has seen a spike in extortion-related crimes at construction sites. Some of those incidents resulted in violent deaths.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Murderous construction mafias have brought many companies to their knees – with SAPS help, the fightback has started

Extortion in the city extends to other sectors, with workers along railway tracks and even in refuse collection trucks being targeted.

Murder, disruptions, delays

The city said several projects had been hit by extortion. They include:

• ACSA Housing Construction (Delft): Work is disrupted, with reported cases of attempted murder, murder and arson.
• Delft select roadworks: Work is disrupted, with a reported case of murder.
• MyCiti construction site (Spine Road, Khayelitsha): Work is going ahead after extortion-related delays.
• Beacon Valley housing in Mitchells Plain: Work is disrupted, with reported cases of intimidation and arson.
• Lentegeur Pedestrian Bridge in Mitchells Plain: Work is proceeding following reported cases of theft and intimidation.
• Eastridge, Mitchells Plain, high-voltage cable relocation: Work is proceeding after disruptions.
• Bishop Lavis roadworks: Work has been disrupted, with reported cases of intimidation.
• Edward Street in Ottery: Work is proceeding after disruptions.

R11-billion infrastructure budget

The city has an R11-billion infrastructure budget for 2023/2024 – 73% of which is said will directly benefit lower-income households.

“We have staff and contractors working on the ground more than ever, especially in vulnerable communities impacted by crime,” Hill-Lewis said.

“We cannot afford project delays due to criminal activity. That’s why the ‘Enough’ campaign aims to increase public reporting of extortion activity, with specialised city investigators feeding this information into the South African Police Service’s anti-extortion unit.”

‘Imminent arrests’

Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security JP Smith said construction mafia-related arrests were imminent.

He was cautious to not give out details that might compromise investigations.

“I don’t [want to]  give too much insight into the state of the investigations, but I can tell you that those have proceeded very desirably and very rapidly in the last couple of months.

“We have made great progress in the last month. You will be seeing some arrests in the next week or two,” he said.

Both Smith and Hill-Lewis complained about the lack of enthusiasm from the country’s Crime Intelligence division to assist in tackling extortionists.

Corruption investigation

Meanwhile, the city has faced other problems in the human settlements arena.

Earlier this year, Daily Maverick reported that alleged 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield’s name cropped up in an investigation relating to city councillor Malusi Booi, who in March was fired as Mayco member for human settlements after his office was raided during an investigation into fraud and corruption.

Read more in Daily Maverick: SAPS investigating allegations Cape Town mayco member Malusi Booi ‘took cash from gangsters’

Daily Maverick also reported that the City of Cape Town was doing business with Stanfield’s wife, Nicole Johnson, who is the director of Glomix House Brokers.

(Stanfield and Johnson were arrested in their home in the upmarket Cape Town suburb of Constantia on 29 September and face various charges.)

Companies under heavier scrutiny

On Thursday, at the anti-extortion campaign launch, Hill-Lewis told Daily Maverick that police had not provided him with an update on the investigation into Booi.

He said the municipality would in future be more cautious in doing due diligence concerning company directors and officials suspected to be on the wrong side of the law.

“When someone bids [for a tender] using a shelf or a new company name, it is very difficult to tell if people associated with those companies are up to no good elsewhere in the country.” DM