High unemployment blamed for extortion increase: Mchunu

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and SAPS Senior Management meet with the Portfolio Committee on November 27, 2024.

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Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has attributed the escalation of incidents of extortion in the country to South Africans resorting to making quick money in an environment of high unemployment.

He and his team presented the latest crime statistics, from July 2024 to September 2024, to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police yesterday.

Mchunu who dealt with tough questions from committee members said he and his management had discussed how to convince South Africans that police were committed to fighting crime, especially extortion.

He says, “We are fighting crime in the context of South Africa, real South Africa. When the country is such that at the moment many people are finding it difficult to earn a living, they are going to resort to this and that. We are in a context where jobs are really quite scarce.”