Diageo South Africa team provides relief following widespread unrest and looting

Diageo SA employees and third-party partners have rolled their sleeves and are helping in dealing with devastation caused by the recent political unrest and looting in two of the most populous provinces of South Africa.

Both Johannesburg and Durban where the two Diageo SA sites are based have been affected by riots since the sentencing of SA former President Jacob Zuma to 15 months imprisonment for contempt of Court after failing to appear before a judicial commission investigating allegations of corruption.

With the shortage of basic supplies as a result of widespread looting and vandalism in Durban, DSA employees raised funds (with DSA matching their contributions) to have grocery items delivered to their colleagues based in Durban.

“It is encouraging to see all employees pulling together to help their colleagues in Durban who had run short of such basic supplies as bread and toiletries. It is a true expression of Diageo’s core character of Valuing Each Other,” said Sibani Mngadi, CRD at Diageo SA.

More than 230 alcohol retail stores, warehouses and distribution centres were looted and vandalized during the week-long riots. The sales team together with our third-party partners (Libra and Smollans) have joined customers in the cleanup operations.

Commercial Director, Sizwe Mkhasibe said plans are being put in place to assist retail and on-trade customers to recover from this devastation. “This destruction came at the worst time for customers as they had already suffered more than three weeks of alcohol sales prohibition. We have to be there for our customers and make sure that we all emerge stronger from this,” said Mkhasibe

The unrest has shown the signs of subsiding following the deployment of the military to complement the police activities. Government is due to review the current ban of alcohol sales when the relevant regulations expire on Sunday, 25 July. Led by Diageo SA MD, Gavin Pike as the industry association Chair, the whole value-chain of the beverage alcohol sector is campaigning for the earliest lifting of the alcohol sales ban