MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st July, 2021) South Africa's largest crude oil refinery SAPREF will begin restarting on July 21 after a temporary shutdown during the violent protests that have engulfed the country in the recent weeks, media reported on Tuesday.
Acting minister in the South African presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told Sputnik earlier on Tuesday that some 40,000 businesses forced to close down over the unrest in the provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal began to reopen since the situation in the affected area had stabilized.
The restart of the Durban-based refinery, which shut down last week, will take up to 10 days, the News24 online news outlet reported, citing the operators.
Protests broke out in early July following the news of the jailing of the country's former president, Jacob Zuma. The first waves of unrest began in KwaZulu-Natal and have since spilled over to South Africa's economic capital of Johannesburg in the province of Gauteng. The protests were accompanied by looting and vandalism. The government dispatched the troops to quell the unrest.
