Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel.
JOHANNESBURG – Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel said the Industrial Development Corporation, the Solidarity Fund and the National Empowerment Fund were at the heart of providing R1.5 billion in successful claims from businesses affected by July’s looting.
Patel was updating the media on the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s interventions aimed at softening the blow on businesses that had their property destroyed and operations disrupted due to the riots.
Outrage at the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma morphed into spates of violence in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, which wrought an estimated R50 billion worth of damage to the economy.
Speaking at a virtual update event on Tuesday afternoon, Patel said the IDC and NEF had approved R1.5 billion in direct support, which could be broken down to 123 separate transactions representing 320 business sites.
“We have also worked with associations and groups. In the sugar industry, we got an application from sugar farmers whose cane was burnt, and R85 million was made available to cover 192 sugar farmers. This has been approved and will get to the final beneficiary,” said Patel.
Patel said the department and its entity sharpened their interventions through surveys, financial support, supply chain linkages, coordination between firms in the provision of essential goods, union support and working with sectors in the economy on focused solutions.
“This has helped us make progress in the recovery and reconstruction of the economy. The economic recovery package announced in July was set up in August. We have had site visits and retooled the NEF to have teams across the country to encourage companies to apply for support,” Patel said.
Patel told attendants that state-owned insurer Sasria was also working closely with the department to enable information to flow both ways to speed up claims. The NEF got R150 million in support from the Solidarity Fund, he said.
“Our institutions have had to become more proactive, not just processing claims but going out to business. We have asked that IDC approval committees must meet daily. We have tried to put in measures to avoid double dipping and corruption,” he said.
IDC CEO Tshokolo Nchocho said funding needed to be as concessionary as possible when dealing with post-crisis interventions, to make the support sustainable. He said R700 million of the R1.5 billion should be in grant form. – FIN24.
