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The Standing Committee on Human Settlements will be extending an invitation to the South African Police Services (SAPS), the Provincial Departments of Human Settlements as well as Police Oversight and Community Safety, and the City of Cape Town for a briefing on the ongoing challenges of extortion at housing projects both within the metro and province.

There has been a pattern of criminality targeting Human Settlements projects with the specific intent of demanding protection money from project managers. The contractor for the Luyolo Housing Development in Gugulethu recently suspended construction after instances of extortion and intimidation by unidentified individuals. During the incident, shots were fired at four security workers at the construction site.

MPP Matlhodi Maseko says, “I will engage with the SAPS and request that they present to the committee on the trends and incidents that have been reported in housing developments in the province over the past five years.

We cannot stand by and let criminals prevent housing beneficiaries from timeously gaining access to their long-awaited homes. In a recent parliamentary reply, the Department of Infrastructure revealed that R5 billion in housing projects in the Western Cape have been halted within the last five financial years due to land invasions and acts of criminality.

It is time for the various stakeholders to engage and implement robust measures to put an end to the criminality at public infrastructure sites. I also strongly urge communities to come forward and provide the police and other law enforcement agencies with information on extortionist gangs within their communities.”

Issued by Matlhodi Maseko, MPP - DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Human Settlements