President Cyril Ramaphosa is heading to KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday to meet key captains of business and industry who are concerned about the infrastructure damage in the region due to flooding and its impact on the economy.
The urgent meeting was requested by the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry to help the president understand the challenges that the business community faces after the floods that killed more than 445 people in April. Forty-five people are still unaccounted for.
In a letter sent to Ramaphosa and which Business Day has seen, the chamber raised concerns about the lack of business resumption in the south Durban economic hub. This was mainly due to the severely damaged canal, flooded factories, washed away roads and bridges, the temporary closure of the port and the ongoing disruption of utilities. Many employees and communities are still homeless.
“To date, businesses have not been able to resume normal daily operations due to damage and loss of equipment, buildings and stock which has resulted in the continuous loss of billions of rand daily, thus negatively impacting our economy,” chamber president Nigel Ward said.
“It is likely that these businesses will become uninsurable until such time the necessary climate-sensitive infrastructure is in place, and that there is confidence that we will not see a repeat of the recent events in our city.”
Key items on the agenda will be the rebuilding of infrastructure, water and sanitation challenges, as well as safety and security.
According to several business leaders who spoke to Business Day, there are huge concerns in the industry that the decisions taken by insurance companies not to cover or to cap flood damage will hurt big business and deter investors.
The meeting with 30 top business leaders is scheduled to take place at the Durban Exhibition Centre.
President of the national Minara Chamber of Commerce, a Muslim-led business chamber, Solly Suliman said the lack of competent leadership was a huge concern.
“We will have to take the president into confidence and raise concerns around the lack of ethical leadership. Our province is suffering, joblessness and unemployment continues. It’s been a month since the floods ravaged our province and important arterial roads including those to the airport have not been fixed.”
KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala said the estimated economic impact of the floods in the province is about R20bn. He assured that province’s economic recovery after the pandemic, the July 2021 riots and now the recent flood are on track.
“A survey by the department of trade, industry& competition shows that at least 826 companies were affected and the cost of the damages to the companies is estimated at R6.4bn.”
He said the national departments of public works and defence will soon finalise the construction of 18 damaged bridges and the facilitation of applications from the private sector such as developers continues.
“What we are facing as a province is unprecedented. While from March 2020 the whole country faced the consequences of a shutdown occasioned by Covid-19, in July 2021 KwaZulu-Natal also had to deal with civil unrest.”
So when the floods hit in April the province was already on its knees. “We were just picking up the pieces. The floods have placed an even bigger burden on our limited financial resources and placed pressure on the delivery of much-needed services for the poor and the vulnerable.”
The department of economic development, tourism and environmental affairs will reprioritise R67.5m towards small and medium enterprises approved by the provincial Treasury.
The Relief Fund will prioritise township and rural businesses and informal traders affected by the recent floods.
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