What SA needs is a big long-term plan to hold back the tide of discontent and negativity and some clear thinking of how and when it will be executed
Along with like-minded responsible and frightened South Africans, I looked on with distress, fear and anxiety as parts of our country were engulfed by acts of public violence, flames, and wanton looting.
What remains of great concern to the wider business community is the huge financial losses caused by the looting of factories and warehouses. For many the losses, particularly for small businesses, were just too great, and doors have closed, probably permanently. Supply chains that were broken are being fixed, but at great cost, and this will have a negative impact for months to come.
The wider business community, which has already acted with speed and aplomb, continues to stand ready and will continue to help where it can. Our forward momentum now is contingent on powerful and resolute leadership making clear and strategic decisions, sometimes more quickly than they are used to. At this vulnerable time our biggest fear should be inertia and lack of any visible and meaningful action, big or small. Every day business leaders need to be measuring their progress and telling their staff about the success they have collectively achieved. In that respect the flywheel of recovery will start to spin more quickly every day.
So, how should this plan look? In my mind a one-day national recovery colloquium led by Business Unity SA and government must begin the process by asking key questions as to how this attempted insurrection happened; how to prevent an uprising like this in future; and, on a more practical and less philosophical level, how to help small business with immediate effect.
We also need to apply our collective minds to forms of intervention to enable the retail sector to safeguard their transportation vehicles and facilities as they speed up and normalise the supply of goods to KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
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