KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala has warned that the ongoing protests and looting in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng will dampen investor confidence and derail economic recovery efforts.

“The social costs of the damage might come in the form of increased unemployment and poverty in years to come,” he warns.

In addition to looting stores and shopping malls, the destruction of infrastructure and trucks and blocking arterial routes such as the N2 and the N3, protestors have also burned down factories, including South Korean technology firm LG Electronics' factory, in Durban.

The factory was opened in January 2020 and was expected to provide a much-needed boost for the country’s declining manufacturing sector.

“While we are still collating the information relating to the cost of the protests, we estimate that the destruction to both private and public infrastructure will amount to not less than R1-billion and that is a very conservative estimate.

“More significantly, this violence has crippled our small and emerging businesses. Hawkers cannot sell because cities are shut down, our fellow sisters and brothers in the taxi industry stand to lose their vehicles due to repossession by banks. Workers are losing work because industries and places of work are not operational," the Premier says.

He notes that the province is hard at work to stop the violence and looting.

"Yesterday, we convened a special executive council meeting and also convened and have had consultations with the provincial economic council and that consultation was attended by CEOs and representatives of major companies, representatives from labour unions and civil society."

Recommendations made by all partners would form part of the province’s comprehensive response to the protests.

“As the provincial government, we have directed that all municipalities operationalise Operation Sukuma Sakhe to identify risk and threats in their areas and report those before they even happen.

"We also activated coordination at district level, where our mayors and councillors will work with all stakeholders and assist law enforcement agencies to attend to threats and protests that are engulfing our areas," the Premier says.

SUSPENDED OPERATIONS
Among the companies that have suspended their operations in KwaZulu-Natal are automotive manufacturer Toyota South Africa Motors and aluminium semi-fabricator Hulamin.

Hulamin says its property and assets, in Pietermaritzburg, have not been damaged, but operations have been suspended to ensure the safety of its employees.

Coal miner MC Mining on July 13 also reported that operations at its Uitkomst colliery, near Newcastle, in KwaZulu-Natal, had been suspended in order to protect its employees and assets.

Building materials retailer Cashbuild on July 14 said 36 of its stores in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng had been looted and were unable to trade. A further 33 of its stores remain closed as a precautionary measure.

Reuters has reported that shipping line Maersk has also shut down all its depots, warehouses and cold stores in Durban and Johannesburg.