Trucking protests ‘economic sabotage’

THE ongoing truck drivers’ strike that has led to the blockading of major highways across the country will cause more financial harm to the already strained economy.

This is according to the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and economist Professor Jannie Rossouw of the School of Economics and Business Sciences at Wits University.

Rossouw said that for the sake of the country’s ailing economy, the government needed to act swiftly to restore law and order.

Truck drivers, led by the All Truck Drivers Foundation, are demanding that employers stop hiring foreign nationals. Several trucks were set alight in various parts of the country yesterday.

In Durban, two trucks were towed away by the metro police after they were found abandoned on the road.

Durban Metro Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Parboo Sewpersad said the incident took place early yesterday morning.

“The police have been on high alert after these incidents, and we are making sure we have high police visibility in hot spot areas that we have identified within the city and on major highways,” he said.

Rossouw described the strike as economic sabotage, saying it had the potential to further cripple the already ailing economy.

“We depend very much on the road-freight industry in the country,” he said, adding that the shutdown was causing huge disruptions to the supply chain.

On the one hand, said Rossouw, the shutdown might lead to a shortage of certain products, and on the other, it might make freight companies reluctant to carry goods.

“That is tragic for the economy. This could also affect companies to the extent that they might go out of business, leading to retrenchments. There is no justification for such incidents.

“We are already in a recession,” said Rossouw.

He added that the shutdown would also have a negative impact on our relationship with other Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.

Palesa Phili, the chief executive of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said they believed the situation would lead to uncertainty and delays in freight turnarounds times, creating additional costs for businesses.

Phili said KZN’s economy was heavily reliant on the logistics sector.

“Such actions will translate to huge losses for the province and the country, contributing further to an already depressed economy as well as hindering several economic recovery initiatives,” she said.

She also said the shutdown would affect the entire value chain and supply chain, from trucking companies to receiving businesses.

She said it would also threaten the country’s trade relations.

“We need to ensure we strengthen ties with other African countries in order to stimulate intra-regional trade,” Phili said, adding that the ultimate impact would be felt by the end consumers of any goods stranded in transit.

“Added to an already unstable pandemic context, this can only exacerbate social anxieties and we call for vigorous attempts to be made by all concerned parties to avoid this.

“As the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we call for tolerance and understanding as we support free-market principles,” said Phili.