CLAIMS that social workers are being harassed by extortionists for protection fees in the Western Cape, have raised safety concerns for welfare organisations in Durban.
Mala Pather, the manager at the Verulam Child and Family Welfare Society, said they have had meetings with their staff to discuss precautions they needed to take when going out to meet families.
“Majority of our social workers are women. They are always in danger because of the nature of their job. They go out into communities and are not always sure of the type of people they are dealing with. Sometimes they remove children from homes and these situations can get volatile. Reading about the extortion in the Western Cape has us concerned.
“We have told our staff to go out in a buddy system and not to wear jewellery or anything that could make them a target. If they are faced with a situation where their lives are in danger, they are told to leave immediately. As a proactive measure, we are trying to have our social workers escorted by police or security company.”
She said they served the community of Verulam, which already had a high crime rate.
“The sad reality is that these social workers are trying to help communities but they are being targeted by criminals.”
Jo Moodley, a senior social worker at the Tongaat Child and Family Welfare Society, said they have tried to shield themselves from the criminal elements by forming relationships with community leaders.
“Like any job there are dangers and we work with sensitive cases. So, with this in mind, before we go out we notify the community leaders, volunteers or the chiefs, so they are aware that we are in the area. Knowing the community stakeholders is one way of us not falling victim to any type of crime. We also work closely with the police to assist us.”
Logan Naidu, the president of the Chatsworth Child Welfare, had a similar strategy to Tongaat.
“In Chatsworth we have war rooms in every ward and through this initiative, our social workers have come to know the community and its leaders. The community understands that we are there to provide a service to them and help them with any other issues they may have. By having this relationship with them, we are seen as a beacon of hope rather than a target for criminals.”
Aroona Chetty, the director of the Phoenix Child and Family Welfare Society, said their social workers were also sent out in pairs.
“While we have not been victims of extortion we still take precautions and go out in pairs because there is always the concern for attacks. It was worrying that criminals have turned to extorting social workers who are only there to help.”
Gareth Newham, a crime expert from the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said extortionists had turned to social workers because for years police had not made combating this crime a priority.
“The extortion of social workers undermines their ability to do their work, provide services to the community and it weakens social cohesion. These extortionists are largely criminal gangs that used to be involved or continue to be involved in other crimes and they have just migrated to extortion. So, they do nothing but harm to the communities they operate in. It is just really a criminal enterprise.”
He said the crime was increasing because it was not taken seriously by the government up until very recently.
“We first saw formal extortion gangs operating in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape over 10 years ago and by 2019 it spread to other parts of the country. It was officially announced by the Civil Engineer Group of South Africa over R63 billion worth of projects were being affected by extortion calling them construction mafia. It was mentioned in cabinet and now five years later it has only become a priority.”
Newham said the level of unemployment and criminals not being held accountable was to blame for the increase.
“The state needs to take the rule of law and criminal justice more seriously.”