PEACE has finally returned to the small town of iSithebe near Mandeni after a tumultuous week of flames and chaos.
Violent protests erupted late last Sunday, continuing for most of last week which left a swathe of burned factories and trucks in its wake.
Reports now indicate that urgent intervention by provincial leadership and a meeting with the community on Friday had succeeded in restoring order.
‘Everything was calm this weekend,’ said Dylan Meyrick of IPSS Security, who provides 24/7 security to many of the factories in the industrial area.
‘The businesses are again up and running and we have had no reports of further incidents, for now,’ he said on Monday.
For some businesses, however, the process of rebuilding has only just begun.
On Wednesday Distinctive Choice, a clothing manufacturer that employs just over 1 500 people, was petrol-bombed and subsequently gutted by flames.
While firefighters battled to bring the blaze under control, mischief makers shut down the main water valve to the area.
Millions of Rands literally went up in smoke and according to General Manager Darren Katzer, the ripple effect owing to the loss of stock and production is massive.
‘We can’t open our doors until insurance assessors have visited the site and, of course, they could not do that until the situation became less volatile,’ he told the Eyethu Bay Watch on Monday.
Damage control
According to Katzer he is facing a multitude of problems which will require extensive damage control.
‘The unions really need to be on our side here, to explain to workers why they cannot go back to work yet. We will have to sit down with the unions and government officials to find solutions.’
It is unclear at this stage whether the thousands of workers will be paid or not and fears that this could lead to further protests are rife.
Distinctive Choice produced roughly 35 000 garments a day for fashion houses, who in turn supply retailers.
The enormity of the problems this one business faces is unimaginable, as Katzer is forced to find solutions to his clients’ needs as well as the well-being of his employees.
‘Four years of blood, sweat and tears disappeared in less than an hour. The ripple effect is obviously massive and right now there is a lot of uncertainty.
‘We are in limbo as these problems will not be resolved overnight.’
For Katzer and other business owners who also suffered damages as a result of protest action, the costs continue to escalate every day.
Roughly 120 protesters, who were arrested early last week, were scheduled to appear in eShowe Magistrate’s Court on Monday, however their appearances were delayed as court officials were provided false information by many of those in custody.
