Help rebuild Alex businesses, urges Galxcoc

Greater Alexandra Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Galxcoc) is engaged in serious discussions with government on the rebuilding of the township businesses destroyed by the recent looting spree.

Galxcoc president Mpho Motsumi told Alex News they were not in a position to quantify the losses as they were still to assess the extent of the damage.

“We are in talks with the Gauteng and national government to secure rebuilding relief for our members, most of whom do not have insurance as they can hardly afford it due to the fact that most of their operations were hand to mouth,” he said.

Motsumi added that most of the hawkers outside Pan Mall were affiliated to the chamber and had their container stalls forced open by the looters who then helped themselves to their wares. “One of our biggest members is the Freedom Supermarket in the Pan area which was razed to the ground as looters not only broke into it but also set it alight after collecting most of the stock.

“We have a lot of businesses deep inside the township as well such as taverns, bottle stores, restaurants, spazas and some corner stores as well as arts and crafts outlets. All these were destroyed during the looting and ransacked of all their goods,” Motsumi added.

“We are asking the government to intervene to assist our members affected by the wave of looting to get back in business. We are also going to meet with the City of Johannesburg so it too can come to the party and help rebuild Alex businesses. This should be a collective effort.”

Motsumi added that membership fees collected from affiliates were just a drop in the ocean and not enough to cover the huge amount of destruction caused during the looting. “It is for this reason why we are calling for the intervention and involvement of the various spheres of government in the rebuilding project.”