Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Chris Hunsinger MP.
The DA has set up a communications desk with the trucking sector in order to facilitate the safe distribution of food, medical supplies, fuel and other necessities to KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng after looters, protesters and criminals laid these provinces to waste this past week.
We also call on the Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, to engage with his colleague, Police Minister Bheki Cele, as a matter of urgency to ensure the safe passage of all trucks through the coordination and establishment of safe supply routes.
Convoys need to be arranged with private sector logistical assistance to manage sublevel distribution networks as local warehouses and holding stores with equipment have been totally destroyed.
It is of the utmost importance to ensure food security, especially in KwaZulu-Natal where wide-spread looting, vandalism and infrastructure damage to many shops and malls have left residents without the means to buy provisions for their families.
The DA also suggests opening the Mooirivier Plaza as the bottlenecks there are putting trucks at a huge risk. The toll fee can be collected at subsequent toll gates that face considerably less risk.
Thus far, the ANC government has been mostly missing in action and seems out of touch with the realities faced by millions of South Africans. This is a chance to intervene in an impactful way. It is of critical importance that the trucks delivering these goods are protected from criminals who would want to hi-jack the trucks to further destabilize the provinces. This must not be allowed.
People are still reeling from the devastation the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown has caused to their loved ones and the economy. And now, common criminals have reigned anarchy on two provinces, leaving people to queue for hours in an effort to provide just one meal a day for their families. The people of KZN and Gauteng deserve better than burned down cities, a broken economy, and an absent ANC government.
Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.