- BUSA president Sipho Pityana has called on government to reverse the amendment to the Disaster Management Act and put a restriction on gatherings.
- Pityana said government should deploy station security services to areas that are at risk of violence and continue to monitor the situation.
- He said law enforcement, as well as other security personnel, should be prepared to remain in position until order is fully restored.
Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) president Sipho Pityana has called on government to declare a 24-hour curfew in the provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in response to deadly and destructive riots that have swept the country in the past week.
President Cyril Ramaphosa deployed South African National Defence Force personnel to support the South African Police Service in tackling the riots that have been characterised by death, the looting of stores and the destruction of vital infrastructure.
Other business formations have called for Ramaphosa to declare a state of emergency in terms of the State of Emergency Act of 1997, which gives him the power to deploy security personnel who can effect detentions and arrests without warrants and even allow for the shutdown of the internet, if deemed necessary, to end a national emergency.
The riots started with outrage over the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma for his contempt of an order by the Constitutional Court and his continued refusal to subject himself to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
However, the protests have morphed into melees of destruction and violence. Pityana said in a statement that the disruptions the riots have brought to business, vaccinations and food supply require extraordinary interventions.
Pityana called on government to reverse an amendment to the Disaster Management Act under the current national state of disaster which allows for gatherings by certain parties, and instead to put a blanket restriction on gatherings.
"Declare a 24-hour curfew in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng to enable order to be restored. Deploy all available security services to strictly enforce the ... curfew ... in terms of lockdown restrictions..." said Pityana.
Pityana said government should deploy station security services to areas that are at risk of violence, and continue to monitor the situation. He said law enforcement as well as other security personnel should be prepared to remain in position until order is fully restored.
"We believe the necessary order can be restored through the existing National State of Disaster regulations.
"The disorder is a major threat to our fight against the pandemic, both in the large and unsafe gatherings that are occurring and the disruption to access to healthcare including testing, the supplies of oxygen and medicines including the transport and administration of vaccines," Pityana said.
Pityana said critical transport networks and functions of entities such as Shell and BP South African Petroleum Refineries (Sapref) have been unable to function and shut down.
"The loss of life and destruction of property [are] devastating. We now face disruption to supply chains that are essential for the country's basic functioning, including energy [and] food and supplies needed to fight the pandemic," he said.
Pityana said BUSA could support government by identifying at-risk areas and critical infrastructure that should be prioritised. He said BUSA was working with Business Against Crime to link business and the security services.