WeeklySA_AdminMobs who looted businesses and retail outlets inside the Pan Africa Shopping Centre in Alexandra and Wynberg this week, destroyed jobs of hundreds of workers as widespread protests against the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma took hold. For scores of local businessmen who lost millions of rands after their businesses were ransacked, the deployment of the SANDF troops on Tuesday was a show of force too late to have prevented the anarchy and misery that unfolded in Alexandra and the adjoining Wynberg business district the previous day and overnight.
Pick n’ Pay supermarket owner Tshepo Ndlovu, whose outlet suffered damage estimated at more than R40 million, described the occurrence “as a sad chapter for black-owned businesses like mine, which supports local charity causes and employs 120 with more than 500 dependants.” He said rebuilding the supermarket would take many months, while employees struggle without livelihood.
Destroying black businesses, as happened across the country, goes against the very grain of the so-called Radical Economic Transformation behind these protests, said Ndlovu, who buried his mother only last week. – Staff Reporter
DIDIZA MEETS FARMERS OVER FOOD SECURITY
Yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Ms Thoko Didiza, met with various stakeholders in the Agricultural and Food sector to discuss issues related to food access problems, logistics around transportation to KwaZulu-Natal, and various parts of Gauteng that had been affected by the unrests, albeit at minimal extent. The meeting was fruitful as all stakeholders involved committed to working together with the government in responding to the challenges of the food supply chain, and access in the case of KwaZulu-Natal following widespread violent protests and looting.
The Minister has further set up a technical team comprising experts from the industry and government to monitor the implementation of all the issues raised urgently. The Minister was joined in the meeting by the ministers of Health, Small Business, in the Presidency, Trade, Industry and Competition, and Public Enterprise.
DEPUTY MINISTER TO VISIT UNREST-HIT ESHOWE
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza will today assess the damages at the Home Affairs office in Eshowe which was vandalized on Tuesday following unrests in KwaZulu-Natal.
As a result of the acts of vandalism, the office has had to close down. In this regard, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has instructed the department to use alternative sites to register deaths to assist grieving families and funeral undertakers as some offices in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal are inaccessible.
To this end, Deputy Minister Nzuza will visit the Eshowe Hospital where deaths will be registered as an interim measure. The Deputy Minister will also join the local community in efforts to clean up the town of Eshowe. – www.gov.za
ZUMA NOT IN FAVOUR OF LOOTING – NDABENI
Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has dismissed the insinuation that former President Jacob Zuma was responsible for the massive looting and destruction of property in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Instead, she said, Zuma would have called a stop to these violent acts of violence if he had access to communication platforms.
She was speaking during a visit to the Jabulani Mall in Soweto which was also extensively damaged and looted this week. Ndabeni- Abrahams said: ‘’ Mr Zuma understands the Constitution very well’’, and would have condemned the violence and instead called for calm. People should stop engaging in violent actions in the name of the former President, she added.
MASHABA TO SUE RAMAPHOSA AND CELE
While the affected communities were now uniting in their efforts to stand against the marauding mobS of looters, leader of Action SA Herman Mashaba, made a startling announcement that he would be briefing lawyers to sue President Cyril Ramaphosa, Police Minister Bheki Cele and the entire executive over the extensive damage to property in the past few days.
Mashaba said the government had an obligation to protect and maintain law and order in the country. He said this while most community members in the affected areas were taking part in widespread mop- up operations.
ALLIANCE PRAISES LIMPOPO RESIDENTS FOR CALM
The Tripartite Alliance in Limpopo has commended the citizens of the province for the calmness and respect for the rule of law as displayed during the recent unrests taking place in some parts of the country.
Parts of the KwaZulu/Natal and Gauteng provinces are experiencing sporadic incidents of looting and vandalism as community members have gone on the rampage. The alliance, comprising the ANC, SA Communist Party and the Congress of SA Trade Unions, said “the unfortunate” incidents had the potential to dent the democratic state and give it a bad name. It also noted an isolated incident that took place in the Moutse area in Sekhukhune, where police were quick to bring it under control.
“The government has made tremendous developments towards spatial transformation in most of our towns, including the revitalisation of local economies by building malls and shopping complexes in economic nodes.
This is a quantum leap to bring economic opportunities closer to the people. We are united in our refusal to be mobilised in acts of violence, looting, property destruction and civil disobedience,” read a statement released by the alliance. – Frank Maponya
KING CONDEMNS VIOLENCE AND LOOTING
In a statement on Wednesday, King Misuzulu said what the country was witnessing , the wave of chaos and looting that has swept across KwaZulu-Natal and the rest of the country since the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma, “I believe is not the right way to express our dissatisfaction”.
“It creates a picture of a people who have lost their identity. What is even more saddening is that so many of those who are drawn to lawlessness and criminality are members of the Zulu nation. It has brought shame upon us as fingers are pointed at my father’s people.
“I never thought, after the tragic passing of my parents, that I would see our own people complicit in burning down the country. I fully understand the desperation born of poverty and unemployment which lures people, especially our youth, to join this chaos. But I must appeal to all of us to take a step back and consider the damage being done through our own actions,” the king said. He said the ones who will suffer the most from a weakened economy are the poor, the vulnerable and the struggling. When food cannot be delivered because trucks and warehouses are burned, “our people will go hungry”.
SHOPPING MALL DEVELOPER SUFFERS MAMMOTH LOSSES
Top Soweto business reportedly suffered losses in the region of R1 billion after several of his businesses – including malls – around Soweto and Diepsloot were damaged and looted by mobs this week. Property tycoon Mike Nkuna, a well-known philanthropist with a heart of gold, arguably incurred the biggest losses in Soweto as most of his businesses were targeted by the mobs since Monday.
The affected businesses in Soweto were Jabulani Mall, Protea Glen, Mangalani Centre, Mangalani Garage, Bara Mall, Shell Garage in Jabulani. His other property, Diepsloot Mall, was also ransacked.
A friend, Sam Muofhe, said Nkuna has helped dozens of people without expecting anything in return. “He grew up in Soweto and knows what it means to sleep without a meal. I am sure he will rise again from these losses.” Nkuna was quoted as saying he was disappointed that businesses that had taken so many years to build, and provided jobs, had been targeted. He said it was going to be an uphill battle to convince investors to return to the targeted shopping malls. – Staff Reporter
