BUSINESS UNITY SA (BUSA) STATEMENT ON ONGOING STATE OF DISORDER
12 July 2021
BUSA has been inundated by appeals from members expressing deep and serious concern about the anarchy in our country in the last few days!
The anarchy started after the imprisonment of Jacob Zuma, as ordered by the Constitutional Court. BUSA notes this, but the critical issue for us is that relatively small groups of people are destroying property, endangering lives, and holding the country hostage. This cannot be tolerated in a constitutional democracy, in which the preservation of law and order and the protection of people’s rights are paramount.
The anarchy has caused significant economic damage and cost and the ongoing violence and destruction of property continues to cause severe losses to the economy. The resultant loss of jobs because of businesses not having the confidence to continue operating will exacerbate an already high unemployment rate.
These events are being reported on globally, resulting in significant loss of confidence in our country as an investment destination, at a time we are competing with more positive destinations in different parts of the world. This will have a negative impact on our efforts to put SA onto a sustainable inclusive growth path and hamper our efforts to address the severe social and economic challenges our country faces.
The economic damage, because of anarchy by a small group of people, will be long-lasting and will be felt broadly, particularly amongst those who are already under severe stress. However, the impact on society of these acts of anarchy is also severe. BUSA urges all sectors of society, including labour, community groups, faith-based organisations, and others to express their serious concern and anger at a small group holding our country to ransom.
We are concerned that the reaction of our security establishment to this anarchy has been relatively weak, until this afternoon. We welcome the mobilisation of the military. We believe this decision should have been taken earlier, but now urge the SAPS and SANDF to act urgently to protect people and property and arrest perpetrators. BUSA will continue to monitor the situation and will continue to engage relevant authorities to ensure calm is restored.
We also urge people to refrain from taking the law into their hands and feed into the agenda of those behind this anarchy. Their agenda is to create instability to continue their nefarious intent. Most citizens want stability, so that we can work together to continue to build our constitutional democracy and an inclusive economy.
Finally, we urge President Ramaphosa to continue to demonstrate very resolute leadership and ensure security forces act decisively against the anarchists. We also urge the President to consistently communicate developments to a nervous and anxious public!
Statement issued by Cas Coovadia, Business Unity SA CEO, 12 July 2021
