EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi lambasted Police Minister Senzo Mchunu for not having a proper plan on how to deal with extortion cases, especially in construction.
Ndlozi said Mchunu did not mention a single plan on how police would deal with extortionists.
The MP said the minister rehearsed everything that his predecessor said in the past, adding that there was nothing new the minister said.
“You came here and tell us you are going to work with provinces and private security companies. All of those things you said have been done before.
“I don’t think South Africans are confident that the minister and police will be able to fight extortion. There is no crime prevention strategy and until that happens you are always going to run after the extortionists,” Ndlozi said.
He said Mchunu was not aware of the gravity of the situation and therefore out of touch with what was happening on the ground.
However, Mchunu said the perpetrators who were involved in these heinous acts were well-known.
“Most of them are individuals who do not want to work but rather choose to parade as armies of murderous parasites that must be fought and rejected by society as a whole,” Mchunu said.
They were often heavily armed, operating in groups that instilled ear and chaos. The relative “silence” of communities and low reporting were due to these fears. Police led by the ministry were hard at work fighting these crimes on daily basis.
Among recent operations were where suspects, identified through intelligence as extortionists, were confronted in Milnerton in Cape Town.
Four suspects were fatally wounded in a shootout with police while four were hospitalised with wounds. In the Eastern Cape, operations were under way and police were focusing on Mthatha and Nelson Mandela Bay where similar crimes, including the illegal occupation of buildings and stock theft, occurred, said Mchunu.
He said police were observing signs of resistance among criminals.
“We must also mention that we see shocking incidents of the lowest morality where church services, funerals and other family related functions get disrupted by these extortionists.”
In Gauteng, three criminals were arrested in Bronkhorstspruit three weeks ago for extortion activities.
“Soweto has also received our attention regarding incidents of extortion,” Mchunu said.
In Mpumalanga, three arrests were recently made in cases of extortion and fighting over turf.
In the Free State, extortionists’ targets included pensioners and people who receive RAF payouts.
Mchunu said these acts required more crime intelligence operations.
DA police spokesperson Ian Cameron said extortion was a rapidly escalating threat that affected every layer of society, from large corporations to small township businesses, and even schools.
Cameron said this was a deeply-rooted issue which jeopardised economic stability and tore at the country’s social fabric.
“Like an extortion racket, civilians are unfortunately sometimes held captive by the employment of rogue elements in our law enforcement agencies,” Cameron said.
“These isolated rogue elements unfortunately then cheapen the ranks of the thousands of professional dedicated cops that work so extremely hard. And even though they are in the minority, these bad actors impact not only upon the their fellow officers but erode public trust in our law enforcement agencies.
“These incidents underscore the need to urgently address the misconduct within our own ranks before we can effectively and sustainably combat the existential extortion epidemic facing our country.”
The Star