Fears of food and fuel shortages as unrest rocks South Africa | Jacob Zuma News
South Africa has been rocked by violence and looting for six consecutive days, with more than 70 people killed as grievances over the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma spiralled into the worst unrest in decades.
Following the jailing of the former leader, protests and mass looting have widened into an outpouring of anger over the inequality that remains 27 years after the end of apartheid.
Poverty has been exacerbated by severe social and economic restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.
More than 1,200 people have been arrested in the lawlessness that has raged in poor areas of two provinces, where a community radio station was ransacked and forced off the air on Tuesday and some COVID-19 vaccination centres were closed, disrupting urgently needed inoculations.
Many of the deaths in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces occurred in chaotic stampedes as thousands of people stole food, electric appliances, liquor and clothing from stores, police said.
The deployment of 2,500 soldiers to support the overwhelmed South African police has so far failed to stop the rampant looting.
Here are the latest updates:
Residents defend shopping mall from looters
Residents of Pimville town, in the Soweto district area, have gathered to prevent Maponya Mall to be looted, according to local media.
The structure is the only mall in the area that has not been pillaged so far.
Pimville residents have joined forces to protect Maponya Mall in Soweto. Maponya is the only mall in Soweto that hasn’t been looted.
đ„: Nokuthula Mbatha/ African News Agency
Read more here: https://t.co/fgbExyBgWO#SouthAfricaIsBurning #looting #unrestsa pic.twitter.com/2LZnSGHkSlâ IOL News (@IOL) July 14, 2021
Such action was welcomed by Deputy Minister of State Security Zizi Kodwa who thanked the community for defending the mall.
Mapping arrests and deaths in South Africa
South African ports, key rail line disrupted
Major South African ports Durban and Richards Bay and a rail line connecting Durban with the Gauteng province where Johannesburg is located have been disrupted, according to state logistics group Transnet.
Transnet said in a statement that force majeure had been declared on the NATCOR rail line. It added that it was deploying all available resources to avert commercial fuel operations being affected, after being served with a force majeure notice by the SAPREF refinery.
Fears grow over food shortages
As violence continues, looting has hit supply chains and transport links in the Johannesburg region and the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, sending a shockwave to the delivery of goods and services around the country.
Outside a branch of a popular supermarket in northern Durbanâs Eastman region, around 400 people started lining up to buy food, hours before the shop was due to open.
âWith [this looting], itâs an inflection point⊠this has now seriously compromised our energy security and food security,â Bonang Mohale, chancellor of the University of the Free State and a professor of business and economics studies, told AFP.
Christo van der Rheede, executive director of the largest farmersâ organisation, AgriSA, said producers were struggling to get their crops to market because the logistical network was in a âshamblesâ.
âWe need the restoration of law and order as soon as possible, because we are going to have a massive humanitarian crisis,â van der Rheede told the news agency.
In the port city of Durban, people started queuing outside food stores and at fuel stations as early as 4am (0200 GMT) when the Covid night curfew ends [Rajesh Jantilal/AFP]
British and Irish Lions reassured on safety
The British and Irish Lions rugby teamâs players have been reassured of their safety, a security official with the tourists told AFP news agency.
âThere have been discussions with the Lions and security has increased,â said the security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not an authorised spokesman.
âSouth Africa is a vast country size wise and the Western Cape is far from the worst hit areas. I would say it is the safest part of the country currently.â
The Lions arrived in South Africa on June 28 for an eight-match tour and played three times in Gauteng before flying to Cape Town last weekend.
âCollateral damage is simply unimaginableâ: NHN
The National Hospital Network (NHN), which represents 241 hospitals, has warned of the ongoing violenceâs impact on the countryâs health care services, according to local media IOL.
Due to the unrest, health care workers cannot leave their houses causing dire staff shortages, while food supplies are running out at some hospitals, according to a NHN statement reported by IOL.
The network is calling on the government to provide on-site security to hospitals and police escorts for the transport of oxygen and other medical supplies.
The NHN is deeply concerned at the slow pace in getting the situation under control, reportedly saying that the âcollateral damage is simply unimaginableâ.
More riots expected: AJ correspondent
Reporting from Johannesburg, Al Jazeeraâs Fahmida Miller said while the situation appeared more stable there, there were still incidents of looting in parts of KwaZulu-Natal province, with a number of buildings, including warehouses, being set on fire.
Questions are also being raised over the policeâs response to the ongoing violence, Miller said.
âWhat we are increasingly hearing from people is the lack of response from police that seems reactionary rather than preventative,â she said, adding that many believe security forces have been not deployed in sufficient numbers to quell the unrest.
while the situation appeared more stable there, there were still incidents of looting in parts of KwaZulu-Natal province, with a number of buildings, including warehouses, being set on fire [Rogan Ward/Reuters]
According to Miller, the police said it has engaged with local communities to try and prevent the destruction and looting, while it has also started to recall officers on leave.
âThis really indicated how desperate they are becoming,â she said, adding that more riots are expected in the coming days.
African Union chairman condemns surge of violence
The African Union Commissionâs Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat has condemned âin the strongest termsâ the widespread violence unfolding in South Africa, while extending his condolences to the families of those who were killed.
Mahamat also called for âan urgent restoration of order, peace and stability in the country in full respect to the rule of law,â read a statement published on Tuesday night.
The failure to do so, âcan have grave impacts not only in the country but the region as a whole,â it added.
[Read] Statement of the Chairperson of the @_AfricanUnion Commission @AUC_MoussaFaki on the situation in #SouthAfrica @ https://t.co/JMwK4Tf65l pic.twitter.com/sGUro6hG4l
â African Union (@_AfricanUnion) July 13, 2021
Overnight violence spreads to two provinces
Overnight violence spread to two provinces, Mpumalanga, just east of Gauteng, and Northern Cape, police said in a statement.
A Reuters news agency photographer saw several shops being looted in the town of Hammarsdale, KwaZulu-Natal. Local TV stations meanwhile showed more looting of shops in South Africaâs largest township Soweto, and in the port city of Durban.
The national prosecuting authority has said it will punish those caught looting or destroying property, a threat that so far has done little to deter them.
South Africaâs largest refinery temporarily shut down
South Africaâs largest refinery SAPREF in the eastern port city of Durban has been temporarily shut down as the country struggles with mass looting and the worst violence in years, according to an industry official.
SAPREF has a nameplate capacity of 180,000 barrels per day and accounts for about 35 percent of the refining capacity in Africaâs most industrialised economy, a net importer of petroleum products.
IN PICTURES: Violence and looting escalates in South Africa as Zuma jailed
A business is set on fire during widespread looting and protests in Durban, South Africa [EPA]
People throw stones at police as they attempt looting at Letsoho Shopping Centre in Katlehong, east of Johannesburg, South Africa [Themba Hadebe/AP Photo]
Police officers detain demonstrators during protests following the imprisonment of former South Africa President Jacob Zuma, in Katlehong [Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters]
Violence will âexacerbateâ situation further: Entrepreneur
Tumelo Mosethli, a South African entrepreneur based in Johannesburg, said jobs being lost as a result of the unrest will âexacerbateâ the current dire economic situation.
âWe donât need this â to see peopleâs shops and businesses being gutted,â he told Al Jazeera.
âYes, people are hungry today, but tomorrow thereâll be more unemployment, more pain, more suffering in a nation that is trying to recover and rebuild itself.â
Al Jazeeraâs live blog on the violence and unrest in South Africa on Tuesday can be found here.
