Cape Chamber of Commerce says its lacks resources to protect businesses from extortion

CAPE TOWN - The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it lacks the resources to protect businesses from extortion.

The chamber claimed that extortion was particularly damaging to the township economy, with small businesses suffering due to the lack of intervention from law enforcement.

Speaking at the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO)’s festive season road safety launch in Philippi on Friday, CEO John Lawson urged residents to take responsibility for protecting their communities.

"If you look at Khayelitsha, Khayelitsha is starved of hundreds of thousands of jobs. It is starved of billions of rands worth of business that could be made within Khayelitsha if it was safe. So, most of the citizens are good. There are maybe 5% that are criminals. The 95% of citizens need to stand up and fight and reduce crime."