"There's no other word for it..."

"It's a shakedown... as close to extortion as you can get."

He said native protesters have been scaring off developers by blocking construction sites, intimidating workers and referring developers to the HDI. He then quoted a number of fees a developer would have to pay to the HDI for his project to go ahead.

While waiting for a ruling on the injunction application, which could take weeks, Smitheman asked the judge to impose some interim measures to restore the "rule of law" and prevent protesters from interfering with or obstructing workers at construction sites.

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