Cape Town adjusts budgets to tackle rising business extortion

As the scourge of business extortion intensifies, Cape Town has been forced to adjust its budgets to accommodate contractors operating in high-risk areas. 

The city’s decision to allocate additional funds to ensure the delivery of key projects and services was confirmed to TimesLIVE by safety and security MMC JP Smith.

“Increasingly, such risks and additional budgetary amounts are included in contract management in an effort to protect contractors and service providers rendering services in high-risk areas,” he said.

“All city budgets are also adjusted to make provision for these risks. It is unfortunate as this is money that could be spent on enhancing service delivery.” 

DA MP and chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on police Ian Cameron last week revealed the DA’s strategy to tackle extortion. Cameron said the crime was adversely affecting the economy.

“By enforcing these illegal higher business costs, extortionists are not just committing robbery but are directly causing slowed economic growth, decreased investment and reduced tax revenues. They are stealing from business but they are also stealing from the nation,” Cameron said.

“It is high time the police place a specific focus on extortion with the necessary urgency that this growing criminal trend demands.” 

The city revealed earlier that toilet cleaning services at informal settlements in Kraaifontein had been disrupted by demands for a “protection fee” from a contractor. The city said hundreds of toilets had been affected since November 11. 

The city’s water and sanitation directorate reported 14 extortion incidents between April 2023 and November 2024. Meanwhile, police made 157 arrests during that period in the province. 

Provincial police spokesperson Capt FC Van Wyk said tip-offs had made the arrests possible.

Arifa Osman, a member of the Kraaifontein community forum, described the disruption of the toilet service as “unfortunate”.

“All the necessary role players, as well as different City of Cape Town departments, are working together to find a possible solution to prevent any further disruptions in services,” Osman said.

About 2,000 container toilets and 230 chemical toilets across 23 informal settlements in Kraaifontein and Wallacedene have been affected by extortion demands since November 11. 

TimesLIVE