Cape Town dealing with extortion and criminality at construction sites

DELFT - The City of Cape Town is tackling the construction mafia head on.

Housing projects in the city worth about a billion rand, have fallen victim to extortion, violence, and intimidation, causing delays.

READ: 'Construction mafia' threatens KZN economy

Funds have been set aside to beef up security at construction sites, and protect contractors and workers, some of whom have been shot and killed.

The increase in extortion at major building sites by the so-called construction mafia, is stalling projects worth over a billion rand and depriving people of homes in Cape Town.  

It's worsened the city's decades long housing backlog. 

The housing project in Delft worth half a billion rand, was earmarked for 3300 beneficiaries.   

In just one week, three contract workers were shot and days later, the site was petrol bombed, damaging infrastructure and machinery. 

Mayco member for Human Settlements Malusi Booi said, “in one of the incidents although the project was completed in Philippi we lost more than 10 individuals some of them were our on law enforcement officers who were shot at the projects so it is quite   a serious matter and we are not taking it lightly as a city.”

He says the disruption of these projects are depriving 21,000 beneficiaries of decent housing.  

Booi said, “it is different groups some pretend to be asking for construction work and demand the 30 percent which is allowed for locals then because they do not have the statutory documents like tax clearance and all that they then make new demands.”

And when the contractors leave the sites for the safety of the workers it means the city has to start the procurement process all over again, meaning further delays.  

“Some groupings in Gugulethu came in and said they want to protect the site and try to create a level of chaos. In Sir Lowry’s pass Sanco wanted the project to stop until they get their 30 percent portion,” Booi said.

Along with increased policing, the city is also offering a reward of R5,000, for tip-offs that will lead to the arrest of the culprits.