Unrest damage ’will cost KZN much more than R20bn’

Business and political institutions in KwaZulu-Natal’s eThekwini district say the damage caused by protesters could cost the province much more than the R20 billion announced by Acting Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni.

DURBAN, July 22 (ANA) – Business and political institutions in KwaZulu-Natal’s eThekwini district believe that the damage caused by protesters during last week’s unrest could cost the province much more than R20 billion (about US$1.4 billion), the figure announced earlier this week by Acting Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni.

Ntshavheni said during a live broadcast on Tuesday that the province had suffered an estimated loss of R20 billion, while 100,000 jobs were on the line as a result of the unrest in KZN.

The Democratic Alliance’s Member of Parliament from Durban, Haniff Hoosen, said during an interview with the African News Agency (ANA) on Thursday that when considering the long-term effect of the protests, the costs could be ten times more than R20 billion.

Hoosen said that businesses could have completed “millions” of transactions during the same period, while some losses may never be recovered.

“The tourism and property market is also likely to suffer massive losses as people are less likely to travel to KZN because of the uncertainty. Property investors have also become jittery because of the potential of a resurgence of further riots and instability,” Hoosen said.

“Consider also for a moment the thousands of jobs that have been lost. All those former employees will never be able to participate in the economy because they don’t have the means to do so,” he added.

In the eThekwini district alone, KZN’s biggest metropolitan area with a population of just over three million, there is an estimated negative impact of more than R25 billion to its GDP, according to the city’s deputy manager for economic development and planning, Phillip Sithole.

More than 200,000 jobs were directly affected, some which might not come back, Sithole told ANA on Thursday.

He said the city suffered stock loss amounting to more than R5 billion, while 50,000 informal traders and 40,000 businesses were affected. He added that the metro experienced “more than R25 billion of damage to property and equipment”.

This was reiterated by the Durban Chamber of Commerce, who found during an assessment on the impact of the unrest in Durban alone that damages to the GDP surpassed R20 billion.

The chamber’s chief growth officer, Zanele Khomo, said that close to 1.5 million people in the city were at home with no income due to the unrest.

The violent protests began following the imprisonment of former South African president Jacob “Msholozi” Zuma, who was found guilty of contempt of court by the Constitutional Court.

After the 79-year-old arrived at the Estcourt prison in western KZN to serve his 15-month jail sentence, pro-Zuma supporters took to the streets of KZN and parts of Gauteng, looting and destroying thousands of businesses in their path.

Rioters also burnt and destroyed water and telecommunications infrastructure, as well as food supply warehouses, leaving retailers unable to restock shelves after they were looted.

Twelve alleged instigators have been identified as the main suspects behind the protests, according to Minister of Police General Bheki Cele and security cluster officials, with more arrests on the way.

South Africa’s commander-in-chief President Cyril Ramaphosa admitted this week that his administration had not been sufficiently prepared to deal with the scale of looting and violence that took place.

Ramaphosa said that security forces should have responded quicker.

The president said the first priority was to restore order and stability.

“We need to acknowledge the impact of state capture and that the hollowing out of institutions had a direct impact on the capabilities of the state. We have made important progress in taking corrective measures, but there is much more work to be done,” the president said during a speech with industry leaders on Tuesday.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher