South African unrest sparks fears of food, fuel shortages

Unrest raged in South Africa on Wednesday for the sixth day running, stoking fears of food and fuel shortages.

Shopkeepers count the cost after five days of looting and rioting in Durban, South Africa. Picture: AFP

Unrest raged in South Africa on Wednesday for the sixth day running, stoking fears of food and fuel shortages as disruption to farming, manufacturing and oil refining began to bite.

Seventy-two people have died and more than 1200 people have been arrested, according to official figures, since former president Jacob Zuma began a 15-month jail term, sparking protests that swiftly turned violent.

Looting has hit supply chains and transport links especially in the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, sending a shockwave to goods and services around parts of the country.

The government said 208 incidents of looting and vandalism were recorded on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), as the number of troops deployed doubled to 5000.

The country’s consumer goods regulatory body said more than 800 retail shops had been looted.

President Cyril Ramaphosa met leaders of political parties and cautioned that parts of the country “may soon be running short of basic provisions following the ­extensive disruption of food, fuel and medicine supply chains”.

State-owned logistics operator Transnet declared a “force ­majeure” on Wednesday – an emergency beyond its control – on a key rail line that links Johannesburg to the coast.

In the port city of Durban, hundreds of people queued outside food stores hours before they opened, as lines of cars also formed outside fuel stations.

The night before, the country’s largest refinery SAPREF shut its plant in Durban, responsible for a third of South Africa’s fuel supply.

Some fuel retailers have begun rationing while others are starting to run dry. “It’s inevitable that we will have fuel shortages in the next couple of days or weeks,” the Automobile Association SAID.

In Johannesburg’s Soweto township, bread was being sold from a delivery truck outside a major shopping mall as stores have either been looted or shut due to fears of vandalism.

“With these lootings, it’s an inflection point … this has now seriously compromised our energy security and food security,” said Bonang Mohale, a professor of business and economics at the University of the Free State.

The violence has also disrupted the coronavirus vaccine rollout and medicines deliveries to hospitals, said Professor Mohale, echoing similar reports from hospitals.

The country, which has ­recorded more than 2.2 million infections, is in the midst of a brutal virus third wave, with daily deaths reaching 633 on Wednesday.

Christo van der Rheede, executive director of the largest farmers’ organisation, AgriSA, said producers were struggling to get their crops to market because of the logistical “shambles”.

He warned that if law and order were not restored soon, “we are going to have a massive ­humanitarian crisis”. Sugarcane fields were torched in KwaZulu-Natal, the main cane-growing ­region, while elsewhere cattle were stolen.

Locals are starting to form vigilante groups to protect infrastructure in their neighbourhoods.

Images of crowds of looters hauling away refrigerators, large televisions, microwave ovens, fashion goods and crates of food and alcohol have been a visceral shock for many South Africans.

The new king of the Zulu community, Misuzulu Zulu, in a maiden speech on state television, said violence had brought “great shame” on his people.

“This chaos is destroying the economy, and it is the poor who will suffer the most,” warned the monarch, who has moral influence over Zulus but no executive powers. “The very same people who are looting at the moment are going to bear the brunt of this due to loss of employment but also the delays in supplies,” said economist Lumkile Mondi.

The pillaging swiftly followed protests over the jailing of the former president, who is viewed by many grassroots members of the ruling African National Congress as a defender of the poor.

AFP