The impact of the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has seen 39 579 jobs lost in the province alone. This has been revealed by Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.
She was responding in a written reply to an Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Parliamentary question in the National Council of Provinces. KZN and Gauteng were gripped by unrest and rampant looting in July this year.
Ndabeni-Abrahams says information received from KZN reveals that 3 613 businesses were affected resulting in a total financial loss of R13.4 billion. In Gauteng, 312 of the 504 affected businesses were not insured.
SA Unrest | KZN businesses count their losses following looting:
She says most of the uninsured businesses employed up to 10 employees and were the hardest hit.
Ndabeni-Abrahams says only 28% of the employees had registered for the Unemployment Insurance Fund. 35% of the uninsured businesses reported losses of less than R100 000, while 30% suffered losses of between half a million and R1 million.
The Minister says the remaining 12% of businesses did not disclose their financial losses.
Discussion on the impact of unrest to SA’s food security
