Extortion hindering housing
THE Western Cape Department of Human Settlements says extortion is crippling its ability to deliver on housing projects.
It said there was a syndicate that targeted project managers who were approached by several criminal-related networks to demand a cut in the projects.
The department said that in a recent incident, construction in Gugulethu was suspended after workers were intimidated, the SABC reported.
This follows after the department, in September, urged Western Cape communities to be aware and vigilant of several online housing scams.
It issued a warning after a Cape Town woman paid R2 000 for a “housing approval letter” into the bank account of a fraudster on Facebook who posed as an official of the department.
The department said fraudsters preyed on vulnerable residents, with empty promises of facilitating approvals for houses, keys and title deeds.
Meanwhile, DA Western Cape Human Settlements spokesperson Matlhodi Maseko, said there had been a pattern of criminality targeting Human Settlements’ projects, with the 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.
“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,” she said.
Maseko said they could not 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 had been halted within the past five financial years due to land invasions and acts of criminality,” she said. |