A total of R1b has been disbursed to businesses affected by the KwaZulu-Natal July 2021 civil unrest, with 118 applications from businesses located in the province approved.

Giving an update on the economic recovery measures implemented after the July 2021 civil unrest last week, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said following the civil unrest, Pres Cyril Ramaphosa announced measures to ensure that peace and stability are maintained throughout the country and that there are no further incidents of violence.

“There was also a programme to provide support and relief to poor households in order to alleviate the hardships they are going through and reduce hunger, and the need to help businesses to rebuild,” Dube-Ncube said.

On the back of the president’s announcement, Government then announced measures to address the social unrest, and these included R3.9b financial backing from the South African Special Risk Insurance Association (SASRIA); R2.3b support to small businesses that are not covered by SASRIA, and a reinjection into the Solidarity Fund.

The roll-out and accessibility of the relief measures are centralised in national departments and the Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), including the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), and the National Empowerment Fund (NEF).

The premier said that through the DTIC relief measures implemented through the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) and the IDC Critical Infrastructure Reconstruction Programme, a total of 118 applications from affected businesses have been approved with a value of R1.98b.

“Through the Department of Small Business Development, to date a total of 75 applications for businesses affected by the July civil unrest have been approved across the department with most of these in eThekwini,” the premier said.