Many areas of KZN including Bridge City and some parts of Gauteng were severely affected by last week’s unrest, looting, and violence. In the aftermath, it has been truly inspiring to see communities quickly rally together to protect, clean up, assist with supplies to affected areas, lift spirits and help rebuild KZN.
BCMA Precinct Manager, Hloni Mpanza, provides an update on the precinct’s current status:
- How was Bridge City affected by the unrest and what was the response?
Last week was extremely challenging watching events unfold and worrying about our staff and the properties and spaces that we are responsible for during the looting and burning. The BCMA team and key stakeholders subsequently held an emergency meeting to set up a communications and operations framework for how the precinct would navigate the week/s ahead.
- What are the new security interventions and progress?
The board approved an additional security vehicle which will help monitor the area effectively in conjunction with our existing reaction vehicle. There are two armed guards in the vehicle who are trained to deal with any possible threats they may come across.
- What is the clean-up plan and progress?
We are immensely grateful to local community members and organisations, DSW, eThekwini Municipality, Green Africa Landscapes, and other stakeholders who assisted with the subsequent clean-up. This assistance enabled us to clean up quickly and uplift all items that would have required big vehicles or the municipality to remove them. We will review the cleanliness of the area and deploy additional teams as approved by the Board.
- What does the road ahead look like for Bridge City?
It’s going to be a gradual road to recovery with the two affected buildings having to repair structural damages, then taking care of the cosmetic repair thereafter. In terms of cleanliness, even though the clean-up has been very effective, we are committed to working hard to get the area looking in top condition again!
To all those businesses that bore the brunt of the looting and damage, this time has proven indeed to be very difficult and challenging. Our hearts go out to you all. But just like the night is darkest before the morning we will overcome and learn great lessons going forward.
We will be stronger when we are on our feet again.
Hloni
MAIN IMAGE: Nogwaja Street before and after
IMAGE BELOW: Indlazi Lane before and after
IMAGE BELOW: eTM carting away debris
IMAGE BELOW: Presidential visit
