Business mafias strangle country

Organised crime syndicates need protection from senior state actors.’

- Zanele Mbengo

SA's business landscape is under siege from increasingly criminal organised networks known as business mafias and extortion rings.

The groups, which began by extorting the construction sector in KwaZulu-Natal, have now expanded their operations across multiple industries and provinces such as the Eastern Cape, where local business have closed down due to extortion, according to crime experts.

This has led Business Unity South Africa (Busa) to call for the SA Police Service's (Saps) Crime Intelligence to intervene.

Khulekani Mathe, Busa's CEO designate, said there was a distressing case in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, involving an ophthalmologist who was compelled to shut down his practice due to continuous demands for extortion.

"This closure not only impacted the doctor's livelihood but also deprived the local community of crucial medical services, forcing residents to travel long distances to receive care," he said.

"The prevalence of such incidents emphasises the urgent need for Crime Intelligence to intervene.