The City of Cape Town is offering a R5000 reward for any information that could lead to the arrests of those responsible for the recent attacks on housing projects.

It forms part of a six-point plan to help protect City housing projects from an increase in incidents of extortion, criminality and violence; unlawful occupation or forceful community disruption of housing units.

The Mayoral Committee Member Malusi Booi says projects amounting to approximately R1 billion are currently at risk.

Some R2,8 billion in total has been allocated for human settlements over three years and Booi says the City will continue to do all in its power to safeguard housing projects and protect our rightful beneficiaries.

He says 12 City projects are currently under threat, impacting some 4 500 housing beneficiaries.

 

Greater action is needed from the authorities but also our communities as we cannot complete projects without the community standing with us.

The City’s six-point plan to protect housing projects

1. Working closer with the SAPS and calling on the NPA to step up efforts to help bring these criminals to book.
2. R15 million in additional funding to enhance security at the projects and increased monitoring.
3. More cases being investigated by SAPS across the metro.
4. Offering a R5 000 reward for information leading to arrests. Members of the community may give anonymous tips and it is absolutely vital that our communities stand with the City and law enforcement authorities.
5. Greater City law enforcement resources to help protect housing projects and teams working on the ground.
6. Call to action to communities to support the City.

In the space of one week, at the massive R500 million Delft Symphony Way project, contractors were shot and then days later, the site was petrol bombed.

Last year two civil contracts worth R140 million at the City’s Beacon Valley housing project were cancelled because of extortion and intimidation.

We can see many such incidents in communities across the metro where we are rolling out these critical human settlements projects but many are marred by increasing forceful community interference or intimidation, extortion and gangsterism, threat of unlawful occupation and general theft, vandalism and criminality.

Booi says despite these incidents, the City’s Human Settlements Directorate still managed to spend some 97% of its grant funding in the previous financial year.

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”This shows our utter commitment to our communities and beneficiaries. All authorities, our communities and stakeholders must work together to ensure we can safely continue these housing projects that are to the benefit of the communities. We cannot allow criminals to stop the projects.”

Anonymous tip-offs welcomed

• Reward of R5 000 leading to arrests.
• Call: 0800 1100 77