Truck protests will hit economy

STAKEHOLDERS were warned of extreme economic consequences as the spate of attacks on freight trucks continued.

City of Cape Town mayoral committee member for economic opportunities and asset management James Vos said the “truck protests” could have an impact on our business brand because of the negative perceptions it creates for investors and companies locally and globally.

The Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have seen numerous incidents of trucks being looted recently, as tensions in the trucking industry refuse to die down.

Vos said the regional economy in Cape Town was one of the largest on the continent and “we compete globally for trade and investment. Therefore, when an important contributor towards economic growth such as transportation is affected by strikes and violent protests, especially involving the moving of goods and services, it has a negative impact on the overall economy, because industry as a whole relies on the transportation of their products and services to be on time and without interruption,” Vos said.

“Government has a responsibility to deal with these problems to ensure sustained and steady progressive increases in the many moving components of the economy that will drive demand and make business sense,” he said.

Cape Chamber of Commerce president Geoff Jacobs said bombing or burning trucks is not a legitimate union activity and all such cases of destruction of property should be treated as criminal offences.

“Our laws make ample provision for legitimate strikes and protests. The recognised unions in the road transport industry have made it clear that they are opposed to these actions and are not in any way involved,” Jacobs said.

He said no permission has been sought or obtained for these “strikes” so they were unprotected and trucks blocking major roads should be towed away.

Mandla Rayi, chairperson of Parliament’s select committee on trade and industry, economic development, small business development, tourism, employment and labour, said a solution must be found to address the attacks on truck drivers.

“This is not only a crime against truck drivers, but also against the economy, at a time when faster and rapid growth is required. It is critical that law enforcement work hard to find the culprits and act accordingly to stop this thuggish behaviour,” Rayi said.

He said the impact on the economy, especially on small and medium enterprise, was extensive. “The burning of trucks is unacceptable,” he added.