COUNTING THE COST OF CHAOS
five days of devastation and the impact on the national GDP from looting and damage to South Africa’s shopping centres, malls, warehouses and infrastructure is estimated at R50bn, says the South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa).
Following the civil unrest that unfolded in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Gauteng after former president Jacob Zuma’s arrest, about 200 shopping centres were looted and damaged, 100 malls were burnt down or suffered significant fire damage and around 3 000 stores looted.
The total impact of GDP loss in KZN alone is estimated at upwards of R20bn, reports Sapoa. Some R1.5bn was lost in stock, R15bn lost to property, over 50 000 informal traders have lost their livelihoods, approximately 1.5m people have lost their potential to
