The eThekwini Municipality said that the region was expected to lose over R20 billion of its gross domestic product (GDP) following civil unrest and mass looting.
Ethekwini was the epicentre of the deadly rioting in KZN that also spread to Gauteng. The city said that 95,000 businesses were hit hard by the violence in both the formal and informal sectors and more than 100,000 jobs were now on the line.
According to a report by eThekwini acting city manager Musa Mbhele, local businesses experienced losses of R1 billion in terms of stock, while damage to property and public infrastructure amounted to R14 billion.
In a statement, the city said that it was now undertaking to assist affected businesses by allowing property owners to apply for a supplementary valuation of assets.
It also plans to use Section 14 of the rates policy to implement a special rates rebate based on recent events being a disaster.
The municipality has forecast that the loss of rates income due to damages would amount to R300 million.
Officials said that they planned to approach the National Treasury for funding and to repurpose special grants to assist with a recovery and normalization process.
-EWN
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