Fears Of Food And Fuel Shortages Loom Amid Unrest In South Africa

Fears of food and fuel shortages loom as unrest continues in South Africa, impeding farming, manufacturing and oil refining.

Gatekeepers News reports that since the South African President, Jacob Zuma began his 15-moth jail term, there has been anger and riot by his supporters.

This has led to the death of about seventy-two people and the arrest of over 1,700  persons.

Police said many of the deaths in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces occurred in chaotic stampedes as thousands of people stole food, electric appliances, liquor and clothing from stores.

Stores and warehouses have been targeted by looters despite the deployment of 2,500 troops by President Cyril Ramaphosa to help the overwhelmed police force.

Gatekeepers News gathered that people have started queueing outside food stores and at fuel stations as early as 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) when the COVID-19 night curfew ends.

Bonang Mohale, a chancellor of the University of the Free State and a professor of business and economics studies, cautioned that “with these lootings, it’s an inflection point… this has now seriously compromised our energy security and food security.”

“It has created disruption to the coronavirus vaccine rollout and deliveries to hospitals,” he told AFP.

Also, the country’s largest refinery, Sapref has declared “force majeure” — an emergency beyond its control — and shuttered its plant in Durban, shutting down a third of South Africa’s fuel supply.

The firm said the refinery was “temporarily shut down… due to the civil unrest and disruption of supply routes in and out of KwaZulu-Natal.”

Some fuel retailers have begun rationing while others are starting to run dry.

“It’s inevitable that we will have fuel shortages in the next couple of days or weeks,” Layton Beard, spokesman for South Africa’s Automobile Association, told AFP.