The Road Transport Association has urged members to exercise caution and minimize the risk of transporting goods on the country’s roads as the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) shut down on Monday.
Chief Executive Officer Gavin Kelly said businesses have two options to shut down: operate or minimize or minimize risk as much as possible.
“We have the Road Transport Association urging our members and those in the road freight industry who are not our members to think about moving goods tomorrow. Drivers, their employees, vehicles, and of course the goods on the trucks are all at risk,” he said.
Minimize risk
Kelly said the last thing we want as an industry are scenes of people getting sick or killed and the violence in their deaths.
“So we’ve said if you can move things before Monday … then try to get clients and customers to do it. And if you can’t then see if you can’t get them moved after [Monday]… it would be prudent for anyone to try and reduce the risk to employees and assets and vehicles,” he said.
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Police, Kelly said, are also asking everyone to try and minimize the amount of risk that could occur due to death so they can concentrate on areas where there is violence or trouble.
He said he expects a safe South Africa on Monday, adding that the right to protest does not exclude the right to security for freedom, freedom of movement, freedom for economic activity.
Target
The road freight industry was one of the hardest hit during the July 2021 chaos in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, with about R24 billion worth of cargo unable to move as the N3 remained closed for eight days.
About 250 trucks were destroyed during protests against jailed former president Jacob Zuma, causing an estimated loss of R500 million in assets and cargo.
More than 40 000 businesses in Durban were burnt, looted or destroyed during a week of massive rioting.
A total of 354 deaths, 50 billion in damages and 150 000 jobs were lost due to civil unrest.
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