Cape Town – Police Minister Bheki Cele will soon introduce a new steering committee to look into allegations that local businesses are being extorted.
This follows the murder of top cop Charl Kinnear, who was also the investigating officer in the extortion case against Nafiz Modack, Colin Booysen, Ashley Fields, Jacques Cronje and Carl Lakay, last month.
“I can’t promise arrests, I am not a police officer. I can’t give time lines, I receive information from the police about the progress,” Cele said.
“We were disrupted by the assassination of Charl Kinnear. We are still waiting on that.
“The matter of extortion is big in the Western Cape, also other provinces but the Western Cape is the centre of it. The structures working with that matter are there,” he said.
Cele said plans were in motion to appoint Kinnear’s successor.
“Regarding the placement of Charl Kinnear ... it is a matter we have agreed to work on. The people of the Western Cape must wait, but not too long. They must understand that we had a big hiccup,” Cele said.
Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said national government had failed to address issues of business extortion.
Smith added the issue of extortion was not only prevalent in the city centre, but also in townships.
He cited a lack of SAPS resources and compromised members as obstacles to addressing the issue.
“It is definitely true that the national government has failed to address this.
“But this crisis is no different from the environment with street crime and murders in communities as the common thread.
“In both is the complete lack of conviction for serial and repeat offenders,” Smith said.
The foreign owner of a shop in Khayelitsha said those behind extortion of township businesses worked closely with police officers.
The owner, who has been in the country for more than 13 years, asked not to be named for fear of victimisation.
“Extortion has been going on for a very long time. Every foreign shop in the township, even those in the suburbs, pays protection fee money,” the owner said.
“We were forcefully told that we will pay a protection fee, and if you refuse to do so you will get killed. Our people are only killed if they refuse to pay the money.
“Real robbers don’t kill, they just take what they want and leave. We are even given deadlines for the payments.”
Cape Times