Mboweni: R50bn in damages during unrest
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni says at least R50 billion in damages was incurred during a single week of the country’s catastrophic looting and violence.
Mboweni addressed the media on Wednesday on government’s efforts to provide relief measures for South Africans following a difficult economic period.
This follows turbulent weeks in the country’s history after the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were compounded by unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Warehouses, malls, retail shops and factories went up in flames earlier this month when disgruntled citizens took to the streets in what government has categorised as an attempted insurrection.
Shelves were emptied while some major roads were blockaded, brining operations and economic activity in both provinces to a grinding halt.
Mboweni says eThekwini accounts for almost a third of the overall damage.
“For the life of me, I cannot understand how burning a shopping centre resolves anything at all. It doesn’t, how burning trucks at the Mooiriver Plaza resolves anything, it doesn’t.
“The estimates are about R50 billion but if you understand how economics functions - there is the immediate damage of R50 billion but the multiplier effects are huge,” he added.
#Covid19 | Mboweni estimates the damage incurred during #SAunrest sits at R50 billion.
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) July 28, 2021
-At least 15bn of this is in eThekwini pic.twitter.com/nbRn4iJXE7
The South African Special Risks Insurance Association (Sasria) has committed to expedite the payment of all valid claims from the unrest and is working together with private insurers to ensure that assessments are completed timeously.
Government further vowed to extend support to uninsured businesses that were affected by the violence.
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