'Impossible to work without armed patrols': MMC after being shot at in Cape Town

“I dare say we are now at a point where it has become nearly impossible to do our work without armed patrols.” 

Cape Town MMC for urban mobility Rob Quintas said this in response to his vehicle coming under fire while conducting a winter service delivery oversight visit on Wednesday — an ordeal he described as a “terrible experience”. 

The city’s VIP protection unit returned fire, wounding one of the two armed suspects in Joe Slovo, Milnerton. 

“I am extremely grateful ... we escaped this attack unharmed. This terrible experience made me realise how dangerous it has become to deliver services to our communities,” said Quintas. 

“Criminals demand protection money from the city and contractors and because we refuse to pay, we are under constant threat of being attacked — or our machinery and assets get stolen, with many staff exposed to violence in the course of carrying out their duties.  

“These syndicates and other criminals pose a serious threat to service delivery, not only in Cape Town, but across the country. I call on the national police commissioner and the minister of police to do their duty and keep residents safe from thugs.

“This cannot continue and we will not be able to provide services if it puts the lives of staff and contractors in danger.”

A contractor working in the area where the shots were fired was withdrawn for safety reasons.

Last week a contractor responsible for roadworks on Koeberg Road in Brooklyn withdrew staff and machinery from the site — which is close to where the latest shooting incident happened. 

“This project was forced to a standstill earlier this year as well. Given that the contractor refused to pay protection money, the criminals have made it impossible for work to continue on site. Two cases have been reported to the police in Milnerton. The city may be forced to abandon this project because we cannot risk human lives,” said Quintas.   

In other incidents: 

• On May 10 a contractor’s worker was shot dead in Delft while working on a road rehabilitation project.
• On the same day, a group of five men confronted and threatened a contractor working on the resurfacing of streets in Mfuleni. The contractor had to stop work immediately.
• On May 24 a group of gangsters stopped a project on Epping Avenue in Elsies River Industrial.

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