In a national address on Monday night about the violence which started off as protests against former president Jacob Zuma’s jailing last week for contempt of court, President Ramaphosa said the country could face food and medicine shortages as a result of the interuption of supply chains and industries across the two provinces.

Reiterating this, the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC said the threat to food security should not be taken lightly.

“This disruptive activity is damaging to the economic infrastructure, the threat on food security should be taken very seriously. Producers of essential foods have now decided to temporarily shut down,” its deputy president Gladwin Malishe said.

Malishe said other industries like the logistics sector had also been affected by the protests and this would have a detrimental impact on the local and broader KZN provincial economy.

“The logistics sector as it stands has been hit severely hard. The number of trucks that have been burnt over the past three days has caused other business owners in the industry to ground their trucks, for the safety of their employees and the protection of their businesses,” he said.

The chamber was working with stakeholders to tally the full cost on businesses in the province, but a comprehensive report could only be determined once the dust settled, Malishe added.

The violence has seen major shopping centers complexes around KZN looted and gutted by fire. Residents in Durban woke up to a shortage of bread on Tuesday morning, following a long night of looting.

“I went to several shops and it’s impossible to get a loaf of bread. The few shops that are opened have extremely long lines and people are panic buying – it’s like we are in a war situation,” a Durban resident said.