The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) has appealed to the government to urgently provide effective protection to its retail, manufacturing and services sector members, and to provide for the safe passage of delivery vehicles and employees, in restoring the supply food, pharmaceutical and medical supplies to areas affected by looting.

| CGCSA

The CGCSA is particularly concerned about the impact of the disruptions on food security across the country, and is calling on government’s support to avert an emerging humanitarian crisis.

The appeal comes following the widespread destruction of, and damage to, food and other manufacturing facilities, supermarkets and grocery stores as well as distribution infrastructure in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) and parts of Gauteng. Noting the welcome reduction in looting incidents over the past 24 hours, CGCSA remains concerned that the situation remains far from stable.

As CGCSA members are assessing the losses and damage caused, they are also rebuilding capacity to resume serving customers as soon as possible.  The CGCSA members are united in their determination to do everything they can to restore the supply of food, essential groceries and general merchandise and meet the emerging humanitarian need. 

It is in this collaborative spirit, that the CGCSA is calling on government and the security forces to urgently provide its members’ employees, strategic commercial properties, shopping malls and distribution centres with effective protection, and ensure the safe passage of delivery vehicles into and within the affected areas.  This is an absolute priority over the coming days.

CGCSA is also urging the government to urgently open critical road networks such as the N3, and suspend tolls to enable the free flow of traffic. We also suggest that the government considers moving the toll gate away from the Mooi River constant hot spot in its KZN economic reconstruction plans.