R1.5 billion in Support Approved For Looted Businesses – Patel

Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel said the Industrial Development Corporation, the Solidarity Fund and the National Empowerment Fund were at the heart of providing R1.5 billion in successful claims from businesses affected by July’s looting.

Patel was updating the media on the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s interventions aimed at softening the blow on businesses that had their property destroyed and operations disrupted due to the riots.

Outrage at the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma morphed into spates of violence in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, which wrought an estimated R50 billion worth of damage to the economy.

Speaking at a virtual update event on Tuesday afternoon, Patel said the IDC and NEF had approved R1.5 billion in direct support, which could be broken down to 123 separate transactions representing 320 business sites….

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