SANBS speaks out on recent vandalism following Ramaphosa’s address

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.

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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.

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“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.