The City of Cape Town has set up an anti-extortion hotline as part of a new plan to tackle crimes related to construction projects in the city. Arrests are expected soon.

A 24-hour hotline to report extortion is part of a campaign that Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, with some of his committee members, has launched in an effort to tackle related crimes.

Companies wanting to do business with the city in the construction sector will come under closer scrutiny.

The campaign's slogan is: "Enough is Enough! Genoeg is Genoeg! Kwanele!"

It was launched on Thursday in Khayelitsha at a MyCiti depot construction site which has been affected by extortion.

24-hour hotline, billboards

As part of the campaign, the municipality has set up a 24-hour hotline and rewards system to encourage residents to help authorities tackle extortion.

Reporting to the hotline - 0800 00 6992 - can be done anonymously.

Billboards are also set to be rolled out along major routes explaining how to report crimes relating to extortion.

'Tens of millions on security'

Speaking at the launch, Hill-Lewis said: "We are spending tens of millions... I think the figure this year is R55-million in additional security, not total security, but additional security - just to protect those sites so that construction can continue."

He said people, including contractors, were afraid to report extortionists and, to combat that, a useful guide...