BL Premium reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa has assembled a team of ministers to look into the torching of trucks, which has cost the economy R2bn.
In the past week, more than 25 trucks have been set alight on the country’s freeways, with the busy N3 corridor between Durban and Johannesburg being the most targeted. On Wednesday another two trucks were torched on the N12 near Daveyton to the east of Johannesburg. The attacks are mainly a result of a fight for driving jobs in the R480bn road freight and logistics industry. Local drivers claim foreigners are taking jobs meant for them and that employers in the sector prefer employing cheaper foreign drivers at their expense. The fight for turf in the industry has claimed more than 200 lives to date, and threatens to turn a key sector in the economy that employs more than 300,000 people upside down. Condemning the attacks, Ramaphosa directed employment and labour minister Thulas Nxesi, transport minister Fikile Mbalula and home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi to look into the matter and submit a report to him. Labour analyst Michael Bagraim pointed out that because the rail system had come to a standstill, “the economy is relying entirely on trucking” to move goods between provinces.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
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