DURBAN - SMALL businesses in KwaZulu-Natal, which were reeling due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic say they have been left devastated by the looting and unrest in the province over the past few days.
To date, 72 people have been reported dead, with over 1 000 arrested.
Small business owners yesterday told The Mercury that businesses they had spent years building up were destroyed overnight.
Mhlengi Msane of Msane Projects and Entertainment said his office in Mtubatuba, in northern KZN, was looted.
Msane said it was so discouraging to see his business, in which he had invested almost half a million rand, damaged and looted.
“They took laptops, printers, tents and all my equipment that is worth more than R750 000.
“I love what I do, and I employed many people in my area. This was not only my bread and butter but for the community members who worked with us as well. Some of my equipment was insured while some was not,” he said.
Msane said he wanted to try keep his staff on and raise funds.
“I will keep my employees for now, but if I cannot raise funds to revive my business in the next few months, I will be forced to release 12 of them,” he said.
Manoj Rajcoomar of Simply Snacks in Davenport Square said the Covid-19 lockdown had hit the business hard.
“We remained closed till last year in May. From then, it’s been a downward spiral with sales. We survived 16 months, which was a huge accomplishment.”
Rajcoomar said everything in the shop was looted, and what couldn’t be taken was destroyed, including equipment that was valued at R15 000.
“I am a small business owner who battled to stay afloat due to Covid-19’s negative effects on the economy and closure of businesses.
“I don’t have start-up capital for stock and equipment to build up again,” he said.
Kavesh Sewpersad, 32, and his wife Kiara, 26, owners of The Party Shop, said a month after they moved into their new premises inside the Reservoir
Hills Mall, their business was completely destroyed by people looting at the weekend, and on Tuesday the mall was set on fire.
They said they were still in shock that the business that they worked hard to establish was gone.
Sewpersad said his wife was struggling to come to terms with what has happened because it was more her business than his.
“It has taken a toll on her. She hasn’t been the same.”
He said they had been operating from other premises for two years in the area and moved to the mall at the beginning of June.
With the mall having more foot traffic, Sewpersad said they were willing to triple the amount of rent they were paying to grow their business.
“It was a decision we took because we wanted to go to a mall and be exposed, and be one of the better shops.”
The father of an 11-month-old described the challenges they faced to get the prime location at the mall. He said the three-month deposit and rental was almost R70 000 upfront for three months.
“We had to have three months’ deposit, and before we started trading, we had to pay the current month’s rent. That’s almost R100 000 upfront.”
He said this was beside the stock, which is estimated at over R300 000.
In addition, he said there were computers, equipment and card machines.
Sewpersad said while it might be possible to open the shop somewhere else, he wasn’t sure how they would afford it.
“If I can get my deposit back, which I can tell you now is not going to happen, then I can gladly open somewhere else, but with regards to stock, I don’t know what’s going to happen because we are still owing for stuff that was delivered at the beginning of this month.”
Mandisa Msomi, another small business owner, said she felt helpless as she watched her storage unit being looted.
Msomi, a make-up artist and party planner on the South Coast, said she watched from a distance as looters took everything.
“I can’t even bring myself to calculate the value of the equipment that was stolen,” she said.
THE MERCURY