The City of Cape Town has been forced to providing escorts to some of its workers being targeted by extortion rings that hamper service delivery to parts of the metro.
Gang activity, intimidation and violent threats have hampered projects in several Cape Town townships and put the lives of workers in danger.
Community Policing Forum (CPF) members and City officials have also warned that if the situation persists, no meaningful developments would take place.
A report tabled at a Subcouncil 2 (parts of Kraaifontein, Stellenbosch and Kuils River) meeting noted that in March alone three gang shootings were reported in Wallacedene. Each incident took place close to sub-contracted teams on site.
“The shooter on March 31 walked directly to one of the staff members (in Joseph Avenue) and started shooting within five metres from where he was working,” an incident report noted.
Mayco member for Water and Sanitation Zahid Badroodien said the contractor was asked to leave the site immediately and only returned after a week when it was safe.
Mitchells Plain CPF cluster chairperson Norman Jantjies said the incidents were of great concern to community organisations who were keen on the development as the affected projects were aimed at improving the lives of residents.
“No service provider or City workers will want to put their lives at stake. This will hamper service delivery,” said Jantjies.
Jantjies said a main contractor at a TVET college abandoned the project after an employee was killed and another shot and injured in 2021.
Jantjies also said in the same year construction work on a housing project in Beacon Valley was temporarily halted after a worker was shot and killed.
“In other projects, companies were forced to employ people who demanded protection money. The practice is serious and hampering projects,” said Jantjies.
He claimed that the violence in some instances appeared to be carried out by “organised groups”.
Jantjies also said there was no “firm plan” to deal with the violence or “confront it head-on”.
“It will take a multi-faceted approach between all role-players including law enforcement agencies, service providers and the communities to address the crime. We want to see development in our areas.“
In Bishop Lavis it was reported that gangsters confronted a fibre installation contractor, demanding a “piece of the pie”. A new contractor had to be appointed following weeks of delays.
Wallacedene ward councillor Siviwe Nodliwa also expressed concern over the growing incidents of intimidation in the area.
Nodliwa said recently workers employed to clean streets along Swellen Crescent were attacked and some of their equipment was stolen.
He said the installation of high mast lights in Boesak Street by a City supplier was also temporarily halted due to intimidation.
“These acts of violence have a huge impact on service delivery. But we also found out that these are carried out by people who question how the workers are employed while they do not have jobs.
“Often I have to explain the City’s employment policies and this has helped to ease the tension,” said Nodliwa.
Peter Gastrow, the senior adviser of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, previously told the Weekend Argus that while Cape Town has yet to be as hard hit by the “construction mafia” (people who stop construction in violent ways if their own people are not employed) as in other parts of the country, gang violence and extortion has had a negative impact on the growth of the economy.
The City’s spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said service departments often required escorts to ensure the safety of staff or contractors tasked with repairing critical infrastructure or implementing new projects.
“Even the City’s Fire and Rescue Service will await the arrival of a police escort if an area is deemed volatile,” added Tyhalibongo.
He added that the attacks on City staff were all too common across directorates and were also directed at facilities such as clinics.
Tyhalibongo said uniformed enforcement services were issued with protective gear like bulletproof vests.
“All other staff in various departments are sensitised to potential hotspot areas, based on incidents or intelligence received.
"In the event that they are called out to areas where the risk to their safety is high, they are able to request an enforcement escort,“ he added.
He also said most City facilities had burglar bars, alarms and panic buttons.