Durban — The Samuels Group has risen from the ashes after it was looted and set alight in July 2021.
The company has rebuilt its warehouse, resumed full functionality and welcomed back employees back on site.
A year ago, the group’s managing director Darin Samuels watched helplessly as his warehouse went up in flames.
This week, Samuels and hundreds of employees rejoiced and beamed with pride as the warehouse resumed full functionality and welcomed back all employees on site following a rebuilding process that took more than ten months and cost R8.9 million.
The group, in Cornubia, north of Durban, which specialises in the marketing and distribution of petroleum products, was among the first few businesses to be attacked by the poor community who went from business to business, looting goods and destroying property in July last year.
The day plumes of smoke billowed into the air, Samuels and his employees felt uncertain as they pondered their prospects.
Samuels then dedicated his energy to rebuilding with the aim of protecting hundreds of jobs at the business. The rebuilding would also involve and benefit more people from the surrounding communities.
“The rebuilding process was not only about rebuilding physical infrastructure. It was also about mending relations between various communities. As a proudly South African business, we are cognisant that there is more that unites us as South Africans than that which divides us. This is why when we started with the process of rebuilding, we ensured that people from the Cornubia Settlement were given first priority,” Samuels said.
“We did this with the knowledge that some of those people may have been involved in the looting spree of July 2021. It is our belief that some of the people who took part in the looting were driven by poverty and the hopelessness it brings. It was therefore crucial that these communities were brought on board throughout the rebuilding process so that they too felt they were part of the bigger cause.”
The group’s first order of business was to ensure that the company resumed its operations, albeit not fully at that time. This accomplishment was achieved within four days after the looting. What followed was the hard work of rebuilding the warehouse to return it to its full functionality, a process that took more than 10 months.
During that time, 25 more individuals were employed, and a total of R1 296 922.89 was paid to casual workers.
Samuels said he wants to ensure that more sustainable jobs are created by his business.
“It is our duty as businesses to help in alleviating the jobs crisis that the country faces. We are playing our part, and we implore our counterparts to do the same,” Samuels said.
The group employs over 900 people throughout the country.
“All the 900 jobs were not affected by Covid-19 and the July 2021 civil unrest. We had to engage in creative strategies to ensure that the jobs were protected. One of the things we did was to relocate some employees to other sites as we embarked on the process of restoring the warehouse to its full capacity. The livelihoods of our employees and communities, in general, remain our number one priority,” Samuels added.
The group also has a non-profit organisation called the Samuels Siza Foundation, through which it seeks to shield the less fortunate from socio-economic hardships.
After its launch in 2019, the Samuels Siza Foundation embarked on its first initiative called the Mudita Initiative (Beggars Initiative), which assisted the destitute homeless people of Durban. Mudita is a Sanskrit word that means “finding joy in the good fortune of others”.
Daily News