Violence, looting sees over 2 000 jobs lost at PMB mall
Msunduzi Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla says about 2 200 workers at the Edendale Mall alone have lost their jobs.
Edendale Mall was one of the hardest-hit malls within the uMgungundlovu District by violent protests, alongside the Brookside Mall and Mabulala Shopping Centre.
Thebolla was conducting oversight visits with the provincial government at various sites where looting took place.
"To me, if you say 2 300 people, it means about eight to ten thousand people from now on will go to bed without food on their tables. So it is really devastating.
"Honesty, I still fail to understand how did we end up here, but we are working with various business or organised business to see how best then we can recoup."
READ: WATCH: Brookside Mall in Pietermaritzburg gutted by fire, major routes closed
One of the tenants at Edendale Mall, Sabelo Vilakazi, said he was heartbroken when all he could do is watch while people strip his shops empty.
He says he is worried about the livelihoods of his 60 employees.
"My staff crying not knowing where will they get their next meal from. Last week was the worst because they rely on me and I have to be strong for them. It is heartbreaking.
"I shouldn't even think about myself alone, and all the other tenants and the owners of the mall that built this development and infrastructure in our area. It's just hard for everybody."
