News24 | Cape Town rates going towards protection services as refuse collection resumes after extortion

Law enforcement officers have been deployed to escort City of Cape Town workers as waste collection services resumed in parts of the city where attacks and extortion attempts resulted in the pause of services.

• Refuse collection services to parts of Cape Town were suspended amid extortion and crime fears.
• But the services resumed on Monday under law enforcement escort.
• The deployment has a "substantial impact" on law enforcement operations, according to Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith .
  

Waste collection services in parts of Cape Town, which were previously put on hold due to fears of extortion and staff attacks, resumed on Monday under law enforcement escort.

However, the added protection comes at a cost.

Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said assigning law enforcement units to escort City staff has a "substantial impact" on law enforcement services.

In some suburbs, almost the entire allocated law enforcement staff complement has undertaken escort services for City departments and contractors, leaving very few officers available to respond to other complaints.

Last week, the City of Cape Town pulled services from Gugulethu, Philippi East, Lower Crossroads and Nyanga after "refuse collection staff received threats of attack unless the City pays protection fees". Services to Manenberg were also paused following a flare-up in gang violence.

READ | City withdraws services in crime hotspots amid fears of extortion and staff attacks

Mayco member for urban waste management Grant Twigg said the waste collection services were reinstated under security protection.

"It remains the City's priority to ensure services continue, even during such challenging times, as much as possible. We are committed to providing waste collection services while ensuring the safety of our staff who are on the ground delivering these very services to communities. We will work closely with safety and security teams to ensure our services can continue," Twigg said.

Smith added some City departments - such as the water and electricity departments – already have facility protection officers and that a formalised unit could become necessary to support the solid waste department.

He said: 

However, he stressed that providing protection services was not sustainable and that extortion needed to be eradicated through the criminal justice system.

"It's not possible to guard all of the thousands of City employees all of the time."

He encouraged anyone who has information on extortion to contact the City's dedicated tip-off line on 0800 314 444.

The Gugulethu Business Forum's Mlugnisi Mazana said halting refuse collection services had significant health and environmental implications for the community, especially for small businesses, such as spaza shops and food vendors who can't afford to make alternative arrangements.

Mazana said that the safety of citizens remained the government's responsibility, and added his frustration that law enforcement services would need to be diverted to protect City employees instead of the community.

"Crime is against people, not property. It's happening in the townships, and people don't care, but it will have a rippling effect and soon impact other more affluent areas," he said.

READ | More officers for Cape Town suburb after two mass shootings in one week

News24 previously reported that police had beefed up resources in Gugulethu and surrounding areas after several mass shootings.

In what was Cape Town's deadliest week of the year, around 130 people were killed from 24 to 30 September.

News24 previously reported that gunmen in Gugulethu had demanded that City staff pay protection fees.

The City said that in another incident, a staff member was robbed of all their belongings in Gugulethu.

The Gugulethu CPF previously told News24 that they were calling on the government and police to intervene in the ongoing cases of extortion.

At a recent media briefing, Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile said a dedicated team was investigating kidnapping and extortion cases and has had several successes, resulting in a number of arrests.