‘Extortionists are crippling small black businesses’, decries activists

August 22, 2024 92

The escalating issue of small businesses closing down due to extortion has become prevalent in South Africa.

Civic movement, Save South Africa, says the criminals that demand ‘protection fees’ from small businesses are killing the township economy.

The organisation says it cannot be business as usual when innocent people who are trying to feed their families are continuously targeted by criminals.

Recently, several spaza shops and hair salons in Mamelodi, Pretoria had to pull down their roller doors and lock up their gates due to the return of a group called Boko Haram.

The group has been going around the township demanding protection fees from local businesses.

In the Eastern Cape, more police have been deployed after several businesses, healthcare facilities, and schools had to shut down due to the escalating demand for protection fees from extortionists and gangs.

According to the SAPS, 722 extortionists have been arrested in the last five years, with 93 cases still under investigation.

Speaking to YNews, Save SA’s Communication Director, Tebogo Mashilompane has attributed the increasing number of foreign-owned shops in townships as a symptom of this crime.

The movement has also reiterated its call for President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare crime a state of emergency.

Mashilompane says Ramaphosa should consider setting aside at least 21 days to focus on tackling the high crime rate in communities.

The Black Business Federation has also weighed in, raising a similar concern on the targeting of black businesses.

Reflecting on the ‘construction mafias’ in KwaZulu Natal, the Federation says the provincial government was able to curb the expansion of this through collaborations and consultations with all key role players.

Speaking to YNews, CEO of the Black Business Federation, Ntsikelelo Dlulane says an all-hands-on-deck approach will yield the desired results in dealing with extortionists.