A KwaZulu-Natal village one-stop shopping complex needs in excess of R1m to be able to return to business.
The Valley Trading Store, a one-stop shopping complex in Qadi village in KwaNyuswa, under iLembe district municipality, was one of the businesses which were vandalised and looted during the recent unrest.
The once popular complex housed a hardware store which traded in building materials, tools as well as groceries and had been operating for two years.
It also had a backyard in which bricks were made and sold and also traded in paraffin and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) which were among some of its stock stolen during the looting spree.
Sibongiseni Vilakazi, the executive director of TVT, the company which owns the building, said the building was not just looted, it was also partially set alight.
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TVT owned some of the businesses in the centre including the hardware store but rented out some of the premises to other tenants.
“Our most immediate needs is to beef up security through installing CCTV cameras in our office,” he said, adding that it will help to protect what's remaining of the building.
Vilakazi said they are a relatively big business that catered for a lot of communities and for the store to get back to operating they need at least R1m.
“We put in roughly R600,000 for over two years to get the structure to where it was,” he said.
Vilakazi said they need to construct walls, and fit windows and doors. They also need to fit shelves and re-install electricity and plumbing.
He said gas cylinders and paraffin which amounted to about R600,000 were also looted.
Vilakazi said their truck was also stripped and they need about R350,000 to replace it.
He said they had submitted an insurance claim for both the structure and contents, however, they do not know yet what will be covered and what not.
He said they needed to get the structure up and running as soon as possible or else other tenants renting from them might decide to set up businesses elsewhere.
He said this could be a massive blow and setback as their company was a significant source of income for many families.
“Losing it poses a serious threat to the survival of our organisation,” Vilakazi said.
He said he was disappointed and angry at what happened and much will depend on the insurance payout as they need to restore the building to a state that is fit for a business to operate.
“Only then we will make the decision on the future of the business,” Vilakazi said.
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