Sasria launches document on July 2021 unrest

Two years since the events of July 2021, the South African Special Risk Insurance Association (Sasria) has launched a documentary titled The Unrest.

The much-anticipated documentary tells the pivotal role played by Sasria – a public enterprise non-life insurance company – during and post the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

The documentary premiered in KwaMashu on Wednesday, which was the epicentre of the riots that started on 09 July 2021 and one of the most affected areas with food shortages and destruction of property.

The Unrest will also be premiered in Johannesburg at Ster-Kinekor in Sandton City on Thursday, 06 July 2023.

The documentary will be made available on mainstream public platforms in due course.

Mpumi Tyikwe, Chief Executive Officer at Sasria, described the documentary as a thought-provoking piece of work that captures the events of those seven days.

“They were consequential days that got the world talking and demonstrated Sasria’s significance in South Africa’s socio-economic ecosystem. There is the education element as well that says yes, we can protest, but there is really no need to vandalise infrastructure, cause economic losses and risk losing lives.”

In the documentary, Sasria executives and several industry leaders share their insights, as people who were at the epicentre of the chaos.

Those interviewed touch on eyewitness accounts and the aftermath that the unrest caused.

Tyikwe said the past two years have seen Sasria becoming more agile and responsive, with more claims settled, and the organisation cementing its reputation as a reliable insurance provider.

According to Sasria, in the documentary viewers are able to understand the potential alternative strategies that could have lessened the disaster’s magnitude.

It said there is a significant highlight on implications for businesses, the economy, and communities at large, presenting a profound understanding of the societal and economic consequences of the unrest.

Sasria said while it has been working around the clock to settle all approved claims, those that have been delayed have been as a result of varying reasons such as the reinstatements of buildings and business interruption dependencies on material damage claims being finalised.

“We have strong working relationships with our stakeholders, which enabled us to handle over R30 billion in claims. The payment of these have seen businesses restored and fully recovered. The management team I lead is focused on ensuring that we settle all the claims.

“With the risk of social unrest everpresent in our country, we have committed to use lessons learnt from the 2021 riots to ensure that Sasria is a lot more responsive, should such an unplanned and unfortunate event happen again,” said Tyikwe.

He said reiterated the call against the destruction of much-needed infrastructure. “Let’s protest, let’s make our voices heard, but let’s stop doing so through violence and vandalism, which sets all of us back.” – SAnews.gov.za