08:00 - 17:00 
City Logistics Chairman, Richard Fisher:
Within the City Logistics family, we certainly never expected to witness, or fall victim to the kind of widespread looting and lawlessness that ravaged our beautiful home province of KwaZulu-Natal and the economic hub of Gauteng during the week of 12 July 2021.
Within a matter of days, supply chains were disrupted, roads closed, infrastructure destroyed, warehouses looted, and vehicles burned. Most tragically, more than 200 people lost their lives in the mayhem. The damage to our businesses, communities, and the country’s infrastructure has been far reaching, and will take a long time to repair.
However, despite the tragedies of the last week, and all their implications, I have truly been astounded and beyond inspired by the resilience and strength shown by the South African people, and in particular, by the team at City Logistics. They have been incredibly brave and have displayed total dedication and profound resourcefulness to protect the safety of our head office and distribution centre. Both of which are in Queen Nandi Drive in Durban – one of the worst-hit areas in last week’s turmoil. They have assisted clients and suppliers wherever they could and have even stepped in to help other logistics companies meet their client needs during these most challenging times.
This sense of community is the golden thread that holds South Africa together. We have seen it in neighbours uniting to protect their communities from criminals and as well as in clean up and getting ready to rebuild. What’s most amazing about this unity is that it shows our people’s belief in right over wrong – and that this belief transcends the barriers and labels that have been used to divide us in the past. South Africa is indeed united against criminal elements in our society – no matter who they are.
My heartfelt thanks go to our entire City Logistics team, and especially our risk department for their sterling efforts over the past last week. It’s by working together like this that we can move beyond the damage of the last week and help our community and our country return to economic growth and success.