Following recent looting incidents, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has come forward to speak about what government will do to help businesses. The Minister was speaking during a media address held on Wednesday afternoon.
Mboweni said the total damage caused in eThekwini and Gauteng is estimated to be R20 billion.
"The recent disturbances and unrest in both KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng have had a major impact on our society and on our economy. This has impacted very negatively to our economic recovery trajectory,"
Mboweni confirmed that the South African Special Risks Insurance Association (Sasria) will provide cover to businesses affected by the looting
Treasury Director-General Dondo Mogajane said the National Treasury will allocate R3.9 billion immediately to Sasria.
Mboweni said Sasria will be working with other insurance companies to assess the damage caused to businesses.
“Of course, at the launch of our democracy, we did not really anticipate that we will have riots and destruction of property and so on because we're a democracy and therefore we were supposed to resolve our differences peacefully, in discussions and debate.
“But unfortunately we have found ourselves in this position today and therefore, Sasria is going to become very handy in assisting us to come out of this difficult situation,” said the Minister.
Youth owned enterprises that are uninsured and were affected by the looting incidents will also receive funding.
This will be done through the Youth Enterprise Rebuilding Fund that was recently launched by the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).
“The fund will exist alongside other forms of government support to business and jobs in these challenging times. Details of the fund are available on the NYDA website www.nyda.gov.za.
“The NYDA encourages all young people who may have been displaced from employment because of the recent violence to apply for support from the Unemployment Insurance Fund. Details can be found on https://ufiling.co.za/uif/ or through a Department of Employment and Labour Centre,” said the NYDA.
Applications for the fund are currently open and will be closing on 30 July 2021.
