HOURS after president Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on the violent protests on Sunday, looters stormed the South African Blood Service.
Speaking to the Berea Mail, spokesperson, Khensani Mahlangu said the SANBS saw multiple incidents of looting and vandalism to their properties across KZN.
“In total, four of our donor centres were targeted and this all took place on Monday, July 12. Fortunately, no staff members or donors were harmed during these incidents. The company will only be able to take stock of all the damage once safety and calm has been restored to the affected areas. We are currently still monitoring the situation,” she said.
Also read: WATCH: Mother attempts to save baby from burning building in Durban
Despite vandalism, KZN supplies have remained stable.
“Fortunately, our blood stocks are currently stable. We do, however, anticipate some difficulty should our donor centres remain closed for a prolonged period of time. We have business continuity plans in place which will go a long way in ensuring continued operations and we are hopeful for the speedy resolution of the national unrest,” said Mahlangu.
Also read: WATCH: Rampant looting across Durban
“The SANBS condemns the acts of violence seen over past few days. We do not encourage any donors risking their safety in any way at this point. By obliging with the command and instructions of South African law enforcement authorities, the community will be helping the SANBS too as this will allow us to resume full operations as soon as possible. Our contracted security services did their best to protect SANBS property while the situation permitted. Mounting unrest understandably forced them to vacate the premises and we support their decision to do so,” she added.
Do you want to receive news alerts via Telegram? Send us a message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535. You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
