Durban - eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda says the City is upping its game to prevent events similar to the July 2021 riots which the KwaZulu-Natal economic hub is still recovering from.
As Durban and the rest of the country’s major centres prepares itself for the national shutdown organised by the EFF today, the mayor told members of the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Portfolio Committee on Friday that the City was putting in place all measures to ensure safety and order. This was as the municipality appeared before the portfolio committee to give an update on its performance and recovery plans since the floods in April last year.
Kaunda told committee members that owing to the City being the only metro in KwaZulu-Natal, there was a huge influx of people who sought better economic opportunities. He added that eThekwini, like many parts of South Africa, had been battered by the Covid-19 lockdown, and had sought to recover when this had been lifted.
“We formulated a recovery plan because we had seen the impact that the lockdown had on businesses and livelihoods. However, the plan came to nothing with the July 2021 unrest and eThekwini has not recovered from that,” said the mayor.
He added that this was the reason that the City was going all out in order to ensure that there was no looting of businesses.
City of uMhlathuze, which covers the industrial area of Richards Bay, said it had not received any notice from the EFF indicating any protest action today and called on the party to ensure there was no chaos during the demonstration. The municipality set the EFF conditions for the march which include:
No marching within 50m of any business or school premises. Appointing sufficient marshals guard against any wrongful acts. No carrying of weapons. While the government has issued assurances that today will be business as usual, many businesses have indicated they will not operate.
National operator Solar Supplies said: “Due to the possible national shutdown planned for March 20, 2023 kindly note that our warehouses will be closed for the day.”
Another national brand, Preferred Procurement Services Africa indicated that its staff would operate remotely.
The South African National Taxi Council had indicated that today would be business as usual, but attempts for an update from KZN spokesperson Sifiso Shangase yesterday were unsuccessful.