DURBAN - CALLS for President Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently declare a state of emergency in KwaZulu-Natal have continued to grow as authorities battle to keep up with the riots.
Over the past days, police officers and law enforcement agencies have been battling to deal with the looting and destruction, which has led to the deployment of SANDF members.
The Durban Chamber of Commerce said the situation remained volatile yesterday, with law enforcement, community policing forums, and private security forces not coping.
The chamber said a state of emergency would allow for the deployment of much-needed additional resources to combat the violent protests, thus protecting businesses, communities and infrastructure.
Nigel Ward, president of the chamber, said multiple industries had been affected, with the freight industry being the hardest hit. Without confirming the number of warehouses damaged, Ward said they had received reports that major warehouses have been looted and burnt.
Quoting statistics released by the eThekwini Municipality, Ward said more than 50 000 informal traders have been affected, 40 000 businesses have been destroyed and 175 000 jobs could have been lost in Durban alone.
“Warehouses employ large numbers due to their operations, from the factory line, to dispatch, production and distribution. We strongly believe this situation will threaten job security; many may be placed on short-time and some will not able to return to work at all, which will result in retrenchments.
“According to the city, more than 175 000 jobs are at risk and close to 1.5 million (people) are at home with no income due to the unrest,” he said.
Ward said the road to recovery was a long one; however, they were optimistic that the province and the city would recover.
“As it stands, economically the total impact to eThekwini’s GDP in the last five days is estimated at more than R20 billion. The civil unrest has negatively impacted the city and the province. It has the potential to increase our risk profile, leading to the withdrawal of foreign direct investment. Investors are seeking destinations with political-economic stability.”
Agri SA executive director Christo van der Rheede appealed to the president to declare a national state of emergency, saying this would bring an end to the wave of criminality that has taken root in the country.
“The looting of shops, stoning of cars, blocking of roads, burning of trucks and crops as well as theft of livestock are posing a serious threat to food security in the country,” said Van der Rheede. This would lead to hunger and starvation on a national scale, which in turn would fuel even more social unrest and mayhem.
“It is clear that criminals have no regard for law and order and that they will loot, destroy and steal non-stop until there is nothing left. A national declaration of a state of emergency must also go hand in hand with the deployment of security personnel in all affected areas.”
Van der Rheede also called on Ramaphosa to ensure that logistical infrastructure such as roads, harbours and airports continued to function in order for food to be delivered.
The beer industry supported the call for a state of emergency, saying over 600 retail and liquor stores have been damaged, and in some cases, destroyed, with estimates indicating damages amounting to billions of rand. Alcohol industry spokesperson Nicole Mirkin said scores of liquor outlets, depots, warehouses, distribution centres and specialised manufacturing facilities had been damaged.
The looting was threatening the total collapse of the alcohol industry, which was already on its knees due to the four alcohol bans that have been enforced over the past 16 months.
“Heineken’s Pinetown warehouse was looted on Sunday and cleaned out. All office equipment, IT equipment, batteries and tyres from trucks were stolen. Crates, empty bottles and stock were also taken. Heineken’s preliminary estimation of losses suffered is in the millions,” Mirkin said, adding that two SAB depots in the province were also looted and set alight.
THE MERCURY