A standing committee meeting on Friday on social development, briefed by the provincial Department of Social Development, revealed that extortionists are targeting social workers in Delft for protection money, Cape {town} Etc reports.
Annemie van Reenen, the department’s chief director for service delivery management and coordination, stated to the committee that since 2019, 41 incidents have taken place.
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‘We’ve had six robberies, assaults and threats and 35 hijackings and attempted hijackings. The areas that were largely targeted were Khayelitsha, Eerste River, Wynberg, Elsies River, and, specifically, Mfuleni. It’s becoming a huge risk for us, and many things happen after hours,’ said Van Reenen.
Other areas that have been labelled as concerning include Crossroads, Philippi, Gugulethu, Delft, Mfuleni, Mitchells Plain, Paarl East and Langa, according to News24.
‘The issue that has now popped up in Delft is the demand for protection money. That is something new because we were always very much protected by the community,’ said Van Reenen.
Van Reenen said that two incidents have occurred where social workers were ‘approached to pay protection money’.
‘In the Delft area, the issue is ‘you want to be out, you want to be safe, so give us money’. We were always really safe in the Delft area, and that, for me, is a concern,’ she said.
DA MPL Wendy Kaizer-Philander stated that the ongoing victimisation of social workers in the Western Cape had ‘reached a critical point and could not be tolerated’.
‘The Western Cape government has implemented measures such as unmarked vehicles and collaboration with law enforcement to protect social workers,’ said Kaizer-Philander.
‘However, it is clear that more needs to be done at a national level to ensure their safety across all provinces. We renew our call for these attacks to be classified as crimes against the state, which would allow for harsher penalties and better legal deterrents,’ Kaizer-Philander added.
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