Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) on Tuesday condemned the violence that has taken place in the last few days across Tshwane, Johannesburg and on the N3 highway, during which foreign-owned businesses were vandalised and looted and foreign nationals attacked.

The destructive action also impacted on South African owned businesses operating in these areas.

BLSA CEO Busisiwe Mavuso said “all lawlessness should be condemned”, adding that the small, medium-sized and microenterprise (SMME) sector, which is considered to be the most effective source of job creation, had faced the brunt of the protest action.

In a separate statement, Business Unity South Africa (Busa) said that it would meet with Police Minister Bheki Cele to discuss a coordinated response to the recent wave of attacks on businesses.

“We are gravely concerned at the increase in random attacks of violence against businesses, big and small, in Johannesburg and Tshwane,” said Busa president Sipho Pityana.

Through meeting with Cele, Busa intends to explore ways in which the current wave of lawlessness and attacks on business and traders “can be stamped out”.

“It is tragic to see small businesses – whose owners have invested their entire lives in their trade – go up in smoke because of attacks and looting,” he commented, highlighting that whether it was a single owner spaza shop, a family business in the inner city or a supermarket truck carrying food, “these attacks are unjustified and cannot be tolerated”.

The “racist and xenophobic undercurrent” to some of the attacks were cited as “disturbing” and indicated to Busa that “we all need to do more to build tolerance and social cohesion”, particularly given that many of the people feeling the brunt of these attacks were providing a much-needed service to communities.

Pityana further welcomed Cele’s decision to deploy more police officers to patrol affected areas but added that a more intelligence-driven approach was needed.

“These attacks may look random and uncoordinated, but it is increasingly clear that people are taking advantage of the situation and waging war on our economy,” he said.

“They must be identified, through cooperation with communities, and the police must act with impunity to put a stop to these attacks.”

Subsequently, BLSA and Busa have called on South Africans to report all acts of criminality, irrespective of who commits it.

“These attacks send a terrible signal at a time when we should all be pulling together to make our economy stronger, to make our country a safe place to live and to ensure that South Africans are seen as welcoming investment and commerce and have respect for human life and property,” Pityana said.