Vavi sounds the alarm with SA on brink of lawlessness and extortion

South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi believes the pervasive scourge of extortion will rapidly destroy the economic landscape, particularly in rural areas and small towns.

In Mthatha and other regions of the Eastern Cape, a troubling trend of extortion through “protection fees” is significantly affecting local businesses and vulnerable individuals. The form of extortion in which businesses, particularly foreign-owned, are coerced into paying for dubious protection services, has led to some businesses shutting down.

In an interview with TimesLIVE, Vavi said this troubling trend poses a severe threat to businesses and to broader economic stability.

“The concern is that eventually there will be no economy left if we don't put a stop to this. Even now, in rural areas and small towns all over, it is common practice. This means that doctors will have to move to Sandton, away from such criminal practices. It will mean that the [local] butchers servicing the community, the pharmacy and even the petrol stations will close down.

“It's already happening in Mthatha. Business people are resorting to giving up rather than sharing what they make from their hard work with the criminals who only wield guns [and contribute nothing]. Absolutely nothing, it's extortion,” said Vavi.

In a tweet Vavi posted yesterday, he painted a grim picture of what people in Phillipi are suffering at the hands of extortionists.

“The most painful part is to know that the extortion business has been going on in almost all provinces but is rife in the Cape Town townships, Umthatha and Gqeberha. For years, the residents have been made to pay thugs.”

“In Umthatha, it is reported that women stick R50 in their windows as protection against being raped. This lawlessness and criminality is totally indiscriminate. Even mothers selling amagwinya [fat cakes] in the streets are being forced to pay so-called protection fees, which is nothing but extortion. Businesses all over Umthatha are being harassed, and others have chosen to close,” he said.

According to Vavi, the rise in extortion is directly linked to job losses and worsening unemployment. “This problem won't be solved until we solve the problem in the economy. You cannot have 8.4-million young people not in employment, education or training. This is what you get when you have those levels of unemployment among the youth.

“The latest statistics show a 70% unemployment rate among those between 15 and 24. Seventy percent, what do you expect?” said Vavi.

Vavi’s remarks highlight the broader implications of the crisis. He warned of a descent into lawlessness.

“Have you ever heard the saying that things are falling apart? We have wounded ourselves to the point where we are on the brink of a failed state. We are marching down the road of a lawless state, a survival of the fittest, a state ruled by the law of the dog.

“We are already there. We know that police have lost 50% of their capacity to detect even murder between 2012 and 2022. Now this extortion is a new, most dangerous angle.”

Vavi emphasised that the extent of the problem was apparent across various regions, and is reaching danger point in Philippi. “The stories I heard in Philippi are that these guys are heavily armed. They don't carry some lousy 9mm [pistol]. No, they carry AK47s and R5s. Even taxi drivers comply in fear of being killed.”

This trend is not isolated, Vavi noted. “Imagine taxis standing in a queue to pay. Randomly stopped in the street, these guys emerge from nowhere, and the taxis stop and pay, with passengers stranded inside the taxis. It’s clear this is not just a Philippi or Cape Town issue. People are saying that Mamelodi and the entirety of Pretoria have the same problem.”

Vavi said the problem extends beyond local businesses: “We are losing this country. That's the point we’re trying to make. The country is going, and there will be nothing left for our children.”

He called for action to address complaints about corruption in the police.

“The army needs to root out the criminals within the police. If you could hear what people in the Eastern Cape say, the police are part of the problem. They do nothing when we report these crimes. This seems to be the biggest problem in rooting out criminality,” he said.

Vavi further critiques the current state of law enforcement and its impact on criminal activity.

“When you have very corrupt police, you have entrenched impunity among criminals. They fear nothing because they know that some police, not all, are in their books and eating from their hands. This is very sad. We’re only 30 years down the line [into democracy] and already we are talking about something like this.

“This problem won't be solved until we solve the problem in the economy. These are the consequences of failed economic programmes.

“Yet they still tell us they are going to change the narrative. This is what we get with neoliberalism, austerity programmes and over-reliance on the market while reversing the role of the state in the economy. We now face lawlessness because we are almost at [the stage of] survival of the fittest.”

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