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The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) will be deployed to Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal to assist law enforcement agencies in managing the unrest, but Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) says this should have happened earlier.

Protests started last week when former president Jacob Zuma was taken into custody for a 15-month jail term after failing to abide by an order to appear before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. Over the weekend, protests escalated into violence, property damage and looting.

“We welcome the mobilisation of the military. We believe this decision should have been taken earlier, but now urge the SAPS (SA Police Service) and SANDF to act urgently to protect people and property and arrest perpetrators,” said BUSA CEO Cas Coovadia.

“The anarchy has caused significant economic damage and cost and the ongoing violence and destruction of property continue 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,” warned Coovadia.

Coovadia noted that the events are being reported globally, which will result in a loss of investment confidence in the country – especially at a time when South Africa has to compete 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,” Coovadia said.

BUSA also called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to consistently communicate developments.

SA’s image damaged ‘by the minute’

In a separate statement, the CEO of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) Alan Mukoki similarly raised concerns the unrest has on the country’s attractiveness as an investment destination.

“The image of South Africa as an investment destination is being damaged by the minute. Business has been the main target of this violent criminality, and this has to stop as our economy is struggling,” he said.

He echoed views that the riots would add to unemployment and delay SA’s reconstruction and recovery plan.

Mukoki also called on social media platforms to isolate and ban users spreading fake news or posting content that fuelled the violence and criminality.

“What we are cautioning against is the spreading of fake news and perpetration of deliberate lies to cause mass confusion and inflame an already volatile situation and spread further violence,” he said. – news24.com.