Gauteng economy lost R3.5bn during unrest, says Makhura
The Gauteng provincial government has confirmed a total of R3.5 billion was lost during the looting and unrest that took place two weeks ago.
It also lead to the loss of some 14 500 jobs.
Speaking during a media briefing on Friday, Makhura said the figures were compiled from preliminary investigations.
"The unrest came at the back of us still grappling and dealing with the impact of Covid-19 on the economy. The unrest has had a very terrible impact on the Gauteng economy.
“So far, the preliminary estimation is that cost in rand terms, the damage cause is R3.5 billion, a lot of this is in stock, that would have been looted and the destruction that happened.”
He said the R3.5 billion does not include uninsured township-based businesses.
"Fourteen thousand five-hundred jobs have been affected by the unrest. In other words, we have a significant number of people who have not resumed duty because there are repairs still happening in the malls.”
A total of 30 malls, including shopping centers were affected.
But there were no factories or major infrastructure damage in Gauteng.
"There has been significant disruption of small business operations, some of the businesses do not necessarily operate inside the malls or shopping malls that were affected. But they suffered severe disruptions, these includes spaza shops and informal traders. They lost income and some of them lost them own stock during the looting," added Makhura
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