Over the past few weeks, Sowetan has been publishing numerous stories about extortion syndicates that are fleecing formal and informal businesses.
These syndicates, which largely operate in townships and rural areas, run a protection fee racket that demands payment from businesses. If the businesses do not provide this payment, they are prohibited from operating and often face being assaulted.
In most instances, competing gangs operate in the same area, resulting in a situation where individuals and businesses are forced to pay a protection fee to both or more of these gangs. In the past, extortion rings of this nature used to target informal businesses, particularly those managed by foreign nationals. A peculiar trend that has since emerged is the targeting of professionals, particularly medical doctors.
On August 13, a closure notice of a Mthatha-based ophthalmology medical practice went viral on social media. I was alerted to it by Adv Thembeka Ngcukaitobi, who captioned the notice with a profound statement that ended with: “The criminality now targets professionals, and soon, no one will be able to work without paying money to criminals, for protection against other criminals”.
The notice was unambiguous in stating the reasons for its closure, revealing that the closure was due to “hostile criminal activities that have threatened my life and wellbeing”. It is a disheartening notice of closure, made all the more so by the statement that patients should seek alternative ophthalmology services in town, an indication that this practice was catering to individuals in townships or rural areas.
There are many problems with extortion syndicates that are tearing our communities asunder. Not only are their activities threatening the country’s economy as the incomes of individuals and businesses are diminished, but they are also depriving the most vulnerable and working-class communities of much-needed services. As someone who has battled with eyesight problems over the past year, resulting in two surgeries to repair my retina, I know too well the value of ophthalmologists.
Had it not been for Dr Hamza Tayob at the Pretoria Eye Institute, I would have been permanently blind due to the extent of damage to my retina at the time of going to see him. I am sitting here imagining what the loss of an ophthalmologist could mean for the people of Mthatha, particularly those who do not have the resources to travel outside the town for treatment.
The implications of this are unimaginable, especially when we factor in that this extortion of medical practitioners is also happening at a time when many of them are being targeted for other crimes including robberies and hijackings. In the past few years, we have lost many medical doctors, particularly in townships, to murder in the hands of criminals.
Ironically, these extortion syndicates that purport to be providing protection are the ones from whom individuals and businesses require protection. And yet, despite many of the extortion syndicates’ members being known to communities, law enforcement across the country is struggling to get a grip on this growing form of crime.
The result is that extortion rackets have increased in numbers and are expanding their areas of operation. It is getting to a point where no one would want to run a business in our townships and rural areas – the very places where economic growth and development are most needed.
Criminality in general undermines the rule of law and poses a danger to the national economy. But the rise of extortion syndicates poses an insidious danger that will destroy the economy, destabilise communities and make investment impossible in areas where investments are most needed. It is crucial that all South Africans put pressure on law enforcement and the government to prioritise this crime. Too much is at stake.
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