Social workers now in extortionists’ crosshairs

Social workers have become the latest target for criminal syndicates demanding cash “as a protection fee” in Cape Town.

“In Delft, they tell us if you want to go out [and] be safe, give us money,” Annemie van Reenen, chief director of service delivery, management and co-ordination in the Western Cape social development department, told the standing committee on social development at a briefing in the provincial legislature on Friday.

Officials from the City of Cape Town mobility department and the SA Police Service (SAPS) also attended.

Van Reenen said two recent incidents were reported by staff in Delft, where they were threatened by extortionists. This was a concern because the community had always protected social workers.

“They know we’ve got laptops and cellphones.... It is terrible. I get messages [from social workers] to say they can’t cope any more. Then we have to remove them to another area. They are hugely traumatised,” she said.

This has an inevitable negative effect on the communities that rely on this essential service.

In August, GroundUp reported that the province had called for the justice department to implement harsher penalties for attacks on social workers after an “alarming increase” in attacks. The committee had asked the justice minister to classify attacks against social workers as an “offence against the state”, with harsher legal consequences. But there is yet to be a response.

Tsekiso Machike, justice ministry spokesperson, told GroundUp that the letter had been received and the minister “is applying her mind” and “amenable to the idea of the meeting” with the Western Cape social development committee.

“⁠The department is indeed concerned about the persistent attacks against social workers or persons performing public functions.”

Since 2019, 41 incidents were reported, including six robberies and assaults, and 35 hijackings and attempted hijackings. Most of these happened in a period of less than 18 months, according to the department.

Hotspot areas included Khayelitsha, Eerste River, Wynberg, Crossroads, Philippi, Mfuleni, Gugulethu, Delft, Mitchells Plain, Paarl East and Langa.

“We had people that were so severely traumatised that they were off for six months or more,” said Van Reenen. Urgent social worker cases had to be reallocated to social workers already dealing with heavy caseloads.

The department has implemented safety measures, such as removing government branding from cars, changing number plates, sending more than one staff member into hotspot areas at a time and having regular meetings with community policing forums.

After the meeting, SAPS provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Thembisile Patekile told GroundUp, “It’s the first time that we hear that some government officials have been extorted. We must make sure we nip this thing in the bud.”

He urged people to use the Western Cape SAPS toll-free number — 0800 314 444 — to report extortion.

On Monday, Wendy Kaizer-Philander (DA), chairperson of the social development committee, said social workers, who were already at risk of attacks and hijackings, now faced the threat of extortionists as well.

“The R20m spent on overtime to accommodate the need for two social workers per case in high-risk areas is straining the department’s resources. Doubling up on cases reduces the overall number of cases that can be handled, stretching the department’s already limited capacity,” said Kaizer-Philander.

GroundUp