Although the infamous July unrest is now a thing of the past, it paved a path of destruction which still affects many people today, particularly businessmen.

Some have restocked and reopened their stores, but for some like Ahmed Kadwa, CEO of Bhai Plaza Shopping Centre in Umzinto, it is still a challenging situation for him and the tenants.

All the stores were looted and ransacked at the centre, and because of extensive damage, not all have been able to reopen to date.

“Most shops had their frontage damaged and glass windows broken,” said Kadwa.

“Boxer had some damaged internal doors, a fire at the centre burnt some of the electrical wiring and the yard’s gates and shutters were broken.”

“The fire started by the looters also damaged most of the electrical at the centre as the cables ran through Ackermans and Pep which were burnt.”

As a result, the whole shopping centre was without power and Pep, Ackermans and Bradlows were completely consumed by the fire.

Kadwa estimates the unrest and looting have caused R10-million in damages at Bhai Plaza.

The Bhai Plaza team were on site within the week of the looting to begin the clean-up process and also repaired whatever they could as a quick fix to get the centre operational again.

“Our main anchor Boxer was the first to reopen on September 2 after much effort and many late nights from their dedicated staff seven days a week,” said Kadwa.

“Some others followed shortly after Boxer reopened, but certain stores like African Bank and Telkom only opened in November.”

“Our Debonairs is scheduled to open in early December, and as for the three stores that were burnt down, this can only be done in the new year.”

Unfortunately the insurance company has not yet concluded with their report so the rebuild of the burnt stores is prolonged.

“They have promised a report shortly and this will have to be still submitted as a final report so the rebuild can only take place next year.”

Due to this, almost six months of trade has been lost for the affected stores.

Kadwa stated that “heartsore” is an understatement for all that happened at the shopping centre.

“Standing there in the parking lot and looking at years of planning and execution and building going up in flames is still disheartening.”

“Umzinto is my home town and I am the fourth generation to be living here. I had many other options for investment, but chose to invest in my home town to grow Umzinto and provide employment.”

Bhai Plaza provides employment to over 200 people who were all affected by the disastrous outcome of the unrest.

As far as rebuilding, the Bhai Plaza team acknowledge that it is going to take a long time to get the shopping centre back to what it once was, but are determined to do so.

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