President Cyril Ramaphosa visits KwaZulu-Natal

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Friday visit the City of eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal after days of unrest that have caused enormous damage.

According to a presidency statement on Friday morning, Ramaphosa’s first visit to the province since the outbreak of the unrest late last week was meant to “assess the impact of recent [unrest] and the deployment of security forces”.

Ramaphosa is expected to meet with the provincial government and the security forces, said the presidency.

The eThekwini Metro has been the epicentre of rampant looting and burning of shopping malls and other business buildings such as warehouses.

The city centre currently stands as a “ghost town”, with all businesses having shut down after the riots.

More soldiers arrived in the city on Thursday to bolster the restoration of law and order.

The unrest has led to the deaths of at least 117 people.