The Sunday News
SOUTH Africa has lost more than R300 billion in revenue following the xenophobic attacks that started last month, an official has said.
Addressing delegates at the country’s exhibition stand at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair held in Bulawayo last week South Africa Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Mr Mzwandile Masina said the attacks were now taking a toll on the country’s economy.
“Just the two weeks that we had those sporadic disturbances of xenophobia we lost about R300 billion of export earnings which is very bad,” said Mr Masina.
The deputy minister said most of the businesses were at the risk of closing down after the skirmishes.
“The net effect is that some of the companies are now forced to close down and jobs will be lost in those companies and it’s not a good picture,” he said.
Mr Masina appealed to all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the disturbances would not affect the whole region.
“We need to work together to turn things around and ensure that we are able to isolate these incidences like the one that we have witnessed. South Africa is the gate to the continent and any disturbances in the country will have a negative effect on the continent,” he said.
Mr Masina also called for all the countries in the region to assist Zimbabwe in its quest to recover her economy.
“We know for a fact that Zimbabwe’s economy is not doing very well and it requires everyone that we can push it. Let’s move forward to ensure that we work together,” he said.
Mr Masina expressed concern that Zimbabwe was not performing well on the export market to South Africa.
“The issue that was raised by President Robert Mugabe when he visited South Africa was about the trade imbalance between the two countries which is skewed in favour of South Africa and we say that it can be balanced if we ensure that we both assist Zimbabwean companies. South Africa market is much bigger market as compared to Zimbabwe and we must find a way of collaborating to ensure that we get as many Zimbabwean companies’ products into South Africa,” said Mr Masina.
“South Africa has brought (to ZITF) not less than 30 companies and the idea is that we are able to showcase what we can produce,” he said
The official challenged the African countries to support inter-Africa trade and boost trade.
“The other issue I want to highlight is the role of ensuring that we drive inter-Africa trade. You know as members of Southern Africa Development Community and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, we are beginning to build for the first time the strongest trading bloc on the continent which will be able to challenge other blocs . . . and we can only do that if we are united. It is important that we don’t lose patience with each other,” he said.
