LIVE UPDATES – SA Chef Media mourns with those who have lost business and revenue, and even family and friends as a result of the riots, looting and unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Our vision has always been to connect businesses, and in this difficult time, we bring you ways in which you can support others and find help for yourself – as well as the latest on what’s been happening in the food industry, and how foodservice businesses, restaurants and other professionals have been affected in the devastating aftermath of #ZumaUnrest.
Time to Mobilise and #RebuildSA: How You Can Help
Non-Profits Providing Relief
06 August: SA Harvest KZN Relief Effort: SA Harvest and a large cohort of collaborators – donors, producers, manufacturers, and logistics companies – are actively addressing the devastation and hunger in KwaZulu-Natal following the unrest, with a massive ongoing relief programme. Read more on SA Chef Media and find out how you can help…
21 July: Donate to the City Hope Disaster Relief Fund: The KZN Response Team will be responding to the most urgent needs in communities across KZN. Those assisting are a consortium consisting of CityHope Disaster Relief, The Domino Foundation, Zoë-Life, South African Red Cross Society, and the KwaZulu-Natal Council of Churches. Click to find out more.
21 July: Visit the Heartlines Instagram page to see who needs help: An award-winning non-profit multimedia organisation, Heartlines has been sharing the stories and needs of those affected by the Gauteng and KZN lootings. See how you can help by visiting their profile.
19 July: Donate to Aryan Benevolent Home: A Durban based NOP, Aryan provides care and shelter to the elderly, victims of violence and abuse, and children. They are facing drastic food shortages and have provided a list of items they need, along with banking details on the post.
Donate to Chefs With Compassion: Their annual #67litres campaign was been hit by the unrest, with Chef Coo Pillay from Gauteng and Chef Warren Frantz from KZN reported that despite gearing up to feed multitudes during their week-long Mandela Day initiative, food products are scarce, particularly in KZN. Click here to find out how you can help Chefs with Compassion or contact Chef Warren to assist: wfrantz@ushakamarineworld.co.za / chefwarrenfrantz@gmail.com or 079 986 1234.
Donate to RCL Foods’s Do More Foundation: RCL Foods is currently assessing the damage to their KZN-based projects and the impact this has all had on their foundation’s porridge distribution pipeline in the affected provinces. Click here to donate.
Donate to HopeSA: The local non-profit is currently running a donations drive dedicated to supplying food supplies to residents in Durban. Supplies will be purchased in Johannesburg and Cape Town and flown to Durban via chartered aircraft. Click to find out more.
Donate to Help Foundation SA: The non-profit is hosting a food collection drive in Johannesburg and is accepting flour, rice, sugar, tea bags, tin food, nappies and more. In order to maintain safety and security, you can DM them on Instagram to receive information on their drop-off points. Click to find out more.
Donate to Gift of the Givers: In spite of severe restrictions for safe movement in the region, Gift of the Givers is mobilising its network across the world to assist those affected by the crisis in Gauteng and KZN. Here’s how you can help…
Help the We Act For Change Fund: We Act for Change is now helping to rebuild KZN & Gauteng communities. You can donate at the till point in any Shoprite South Africa, Checkers or Usave supermarket. The Shoprite Group has started it off with an R1-million donation to the cause. More here.
Do You Need Help? Here Are Some Resources To Get You Started
Distribution and Assitance for Affected Regions and Businesses
05 August: Smirnoff Announces R10 million Recovery Plan for KZN Tavern Owners: Diageo South Africa, which is home to the Smirnoff 1818 brand, recently announced that the business will be providing relief funds to support a number of taverners in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal. Read more on SA Chef Media…
04 August: Applications for Government Assistance Open: The Small Enterprise Development Agency has opened the programme for Business Recovery Support Packages to assist businesses adversely affected by the recent unrest. Click here to find out more or click here for the application form and here to download the office contacts for Gauteng and KZN respectively.
28 July: SA Government to set aside R36 billion for businesses hit by unrest: Government has set aside R36 billion financial assistance and incentive relief to businesses hardest hit by the recent riots in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal with the aim of helping them get back on their feet, with SASRIA allocating about R3.9 billion “immediately” to support insured businesses. Read the full story on SANews.gov.za.
26 July: SA government to provide assistance to businesses: In President Cyril Ramaphosa’s latest national address on Sunday, 25 July 2021, he announced that government will assist both insured and uninsured businesses to recover. They will contribute R400 million to the Humanitarian Crisis Relief Fund, and continue to support TERS, UIF and Employment Tax Assistance initiatives. PAYE Taxes have also been deferred for 3 Months to assist with economic recovery. Read more on SA Chef Media…
26 July: International Hotel School Launches Rebuild KZN Scholarship Fund: The innovative fund offers stricken Durban youth up to 50% scholarships for the August intake. Read more on SA Chef Media…
26 July: KZN to expedite approvals to fast track ‘build back better’ campaign: The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has committed to expedite the necessary approvals and certificates for the businesses affected in the unrest, Premier Sihle Zikalala said at the weekend.
Purchase Meals in a Box: Meals in a box is a service that delivers – as their name suggests – meals to your door. They have announced on social media that they’re able to deliver meals to the homes of families in shut-down provinces. You can contact them on mealsinaboxes@gmail.com or 082 089 1089 for more information.
Chalmar Beef and Lamb is shipping to Durban: Order your beef and lamb online and collect from King Shaka International Airport upon receipt of the flight number and collection time. Chalmar is also offering a FREE 1kg lean mince in support of KZN relief with every order placed. Payment options include Payfast / Zapper and EFT. Order online at www.chalmarbeef.co.za
For Mental Healthcare
Unilever Food Solutions offers mental health support: During these hard times, their helpline offers 24/7 support to help you cope with stress and look after your team’s mental health. Call the toll free number 0800 006 333 or clock here to find out more.
Depressed or Anxious? The SA Depression and Anxiety Group have received an increase in calls from distressed people seeking help, desperate about where to stay, how they’re going to feed their families, and how to stay safe. If you’re suffering from anxiety, call
- SADAG Mental Health Line: 011 234 4837
- Suicide Crisis Line: 0800 567 567
- Department of Social Development Substance Abuse 24hr Helpline: 0800 12 13 14 or SMS 32312
Clean-Up Crews
21 July: Micros SA volunteers assist with store clean-ups: Employees of Micros SA have come forward with the initiative to volunteer their time on clean-up efforts that are required in stores of affected areas. This clean up will be done in partnership with the non-profit organisation, Helping With Kindness Foundation. Micros will cover the costs for the reinstallation of your systems on any labour and cabling requirements, your SW fees will be waived for the month of August, and customers on rental contracts will have their fees deferred. “If you have been affected during the unrest and need assistance with the above, please reach out to your account manager,” Micros SA shared in a message with the Restaurant Association of SA.
16 July: N3 highway reopened: The N3 Toll Route between Cedara and Heidelberg is now open to all traffic on instruction from law enforcement. Please share the road responsibly. Read more on Fin24…
Waynol Manor Rehabilitation Centre Volunteers clear freeway: The freeway from Munster to the Caltex Garage has been cleaned up, and the team will continue to work towards cleaning all the way to Port Edward if it’s safe. Click to see the work they’ve done…
ICYMI: This Is How the Foodservice Sector Has Been Affected
24 July: Food prices skyrocket in KwaZulu-Natal: This was according to Msunduzi municipality councillors who told Weekend Witness they had been inundated with complaints from residents about price-gouging in relation to food. Read the story on Witness News…
20 July: Damage to retail facilities detrimental to economy: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has warned that the damage to factories and retail facilities in KZN will have a significant impact on jobs and access to goods and services. This comes as South Africa’s three largest retail groups, which supply food and other products to South African stores and neighbouring States, reported to have resumed operations. Read the full story on SANews…
19 July: SASSA revives disrupted food relief programme – but not in KZN: The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) says the agency will continue to provide social relief of distress in the form of food vouchers to needy families from 19 July, however, the service has been halted in KwaZulu-Natal, as service providers had their food stock looted and infrastructure vandalised during the past week’s unrest in the province. More on SANews…
16 July: List of open Shoprite Checkers stores is fake news: The Shoprite group has confirmed that a widely circulated list of stores that were supposedly open for business in KwaZulu-Natal following rampant riots and looting across the province is fake news. The fake list with was circulated on social media had purported to be an internal memo from Shoprite Holdings to suppliers and distributors. Read more on The South African.
Farmers unable to deliver goods to market: South Africa unrest hits farming, threatens food supply as trucks carrying produce are prevented from delivering to markets. Read Reuters’ report…
Shoprite and Pick n Pay close outlets: Footage of empty or sparse grocery-store shelves has been a staple of local news reports since the weekend, while chains such as Shoprite Holdings and Pick n Pay Stores closed many outlets altogether. Read the Business Tech report…
Police protection for food and fuel: Police to protect convoys bringing food, fuel into the province as shops reopen. Read more on Pretoria Rekord…
Abattoirs and chicken industry affected by riots: SA is one of the world’s leading consumers of chicken – and chicken is the country’s most-consumed meat. But ongoing riots are threatening the country’s crucial poultry sector, with day-old chicks having to be euthanised. Abattoirs are under threat, and disease control measures are impacted. Read more on Fin24…
Basic foods in short supply: In parts of Durban, long queues formed outside the few open food shops and basics such as bread and milk were in short supply. Read Daily Maverick’s report…
Informal stalls and spaza shops have been targeted: The C-19 People’s Coalition said on Thursday small businesses, particularly informal trading stalls and spaza shops operated by immigrants, have been targeted and looted by rioters in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. Stay on top of IOL’s live updates…
Old age homes urgently need basic food items: Durban old age homes are working with a skeleton staff and struggling to get food deliveries because of the unrest in KZN. The Association for the Aged has been unable to deliver its meals on wheels or provide home-based care for the elderly it serves. One old age home said it is in urgent need of basic items such as bread; others have food to last only until Friday. Read Ground Up’s report…
Blue Ribbon unable to deliver bread: Bread is becoming a scarce commodity in shops that remain open as bakeries cannot operate due to the violence. Siobhan O’Sullivan of Premier Foods, which produces Blue Ribbon bread, said operations had been significantly affected by ongoing protests and looting in the two provinces. “Some of our operations have been impacted, mostly due to employees not being able to get to work… We have not been able to deliver staple foods in KwaZulu-Natal since Sunday,” she said. Read Sowetan Live’s story…
Milk suppliers on the rocks: Disruption reported across the value chain, Clover says, as it assesses looting impact. Find out more on Business Tech…
Over 30 Makro and Game stores out of action: More than 30 of Massmart’s stores were looted, and a distribution centre near Durban was burnt down. Despite this, CEO Mitchell Slape remains optimistic, says Business Day…
Not Sure What This Is All About? Here’s Some Background…
Since the announcement of former President Jacob Zuma’s arrest in mid-July, South Africa has been plunged into a week of unrest, chaos and lootings, particularly in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The knock-on effect of this has caused severe economic damage for the country as well as businesses small and large. According to Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), damage estimates amount to over R5 billion for the retail sector alone. Over 200 malls were targeted, over 800 stores were looted, and 100 were completely burnt, BLSA CEO Busi Mavuso told Bloomberg. Part of these damages has laid waste to the food sector, with Business Tech reporting that food shortages are likely on their way as a result. In fact, chains like Pick n Pay and Shoprite have closed some outlets altogether.
“Food is going to be a problem because shops haven’t been open for three days and many with bulk storage have been looted,” said Gavin Hudson, CEO of Tongaat Hulett, which has suspended milling and refining operations outside the city of Durban. “I think we are going to face some food issues in KwaZulu-Natal very shortly.”
To date, over 1 700 have been arrested in connection with the looting and riots, more than 100 have been killed and 25 000 members of the South African National Defence Force have been deployed to assist the police force in restoring order.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that although we have vetted all the information provided to the best of our knowledge and have ensured everything is as accurate as possible, we cannot be held accountable for erroneous reports from other sites. Should you come across any issues in our reporting, please email kim@filmeventmedia.co.za with your feedback.
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