By Akani Nkuna
Senior leaders of the Police Ministry and the SA Police Service have warned that while they have plans in place to combat the rising levels of extortion, funding remains an issue.
They were briefing Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police on what is being done to fight the scourge following commitments in the National Assembly to find solutions.
“We are here to account to what we are doing [in fighting crime], but also taking into consideration that in terms of the budget and the personnel and the technology to deal decisively with some of the things, is still a constraint for us,” said Police Deputy Minister Polly Boshielo.
Boshielo further emphasised that budget cuts to the SAPS had to be factored in and expressed her dismay about lack of urgency in rectifying the situation.
“If there is anywhere the committee may be able to assist us in [procuring funds], we would really appreciate [it] because we are knocking at doors and kicking… but the reality is that SAPS have been underfunded for more than 10 years, which I’m happy that the minister of finance has acknowledged,” said Boshielo.
National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola warned that a public declaration of contractors once a tender had been awarded made them vulnerable to extortionists.
“We have established a toll-free line in two provinces, and we are [currently] in the process of establishing a national toll-free line [where people can report criminal acts of extortion],” said Masemola.
Lieutenant General HK Senthumule, who is divisional commissioner for detective and forensic services, went into more details regarding construction sites, which have been targeted by what is known as the Construction Mafia throughout the country.
“… constructions sites which range from small businesses to large-scale projects serve as prime targets for these organised crime syndicate. And their context includes extortion using violence and intimidation, and disruption to advance their objective,” she said.
Extortion has spread across businesses and society in general, including church gatherings, funerals, spaza shops and the taxi industry.
The police have so far identified 18 criminal groups in KwaZulu-Natal, 10 in the Western Cape, five in the Eastern Cape, three in Gauteng, and one each in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West.
“These groups have organised themselves into what is now referred to as local [a] business forum and have invaded various sector sites across the country demanding money and [a] stake in developmental projects,” said Senthumule.
Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that he has prioritised government’s response to growing problems of criminality and extortion in the country, specialised police teams have been established.
They have been directed to tackle the scourge within the SAPS and at economic sites, especially those in the construction sector.
Senthumule also highlighted how various legislation did very little in terms of providing direction to enable decisive action in terms of justice against the perpetrators of this crime.
“SAPS has deployed a geographical and organised crime approaches, which include the use of proactive competences including intelligence as well as combat and visible policing,” said Senthumule.
Some committee members were unimpressed with the lack of urgency in prioritising the fight against extortion.
RISE Mzansi’s Makashule Gana said that it was a worrying sign that there were over 6000 arrests made on charges relating to extortion, but only 200 convictions were made.
The committee is expected to reconvene on Friday.
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