Extortion plagued communities have been urged to start assisting police in their investigations to crack down on the escalating crime.

It comes as schooling and housing projects have been listed among the six provincial government sites that’s being targeted by the so-called construction mafia.

These projects are worth nearly R400-million.

According to the MEC for Infrastructure Tertius Simmers, almost a billion rand has been spent over the past five years to secure construction sites from extortionists.

Simmers has pleaded with community members, who he argues stand to benefit from these construction projects – to tip off authorities.

He has also vowed to ensure that their identities are protected. Gugulethu has so far been the hardest hit.