New superstore rises from the Brookside mall ashes

A bigger and better Checkers Hyper officially opened at the rebuilt Brookside mall in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday, 14 months after the shop was destroyed by arsonists during the July 2021 unrest. 

Checkers divisional manager Riaz Cotwal recounted how the plumes of smoke that enveloped the mall after it was torched became an iconic visual of the riots that brought KwaZulu-Natal to its knees last year.

Cotwal said the store symbolised a fresh start.

Dubbed the Checkers Fresh X concept store, which is an anchor tenant at the mall, Cotwal said 45 new jobs have been created, bringing the staff complement to 164.

Cotwal said in the week of the riots, they had moved with speed to assemble a team of capable professionals.

“It was so heartwarming to experience the collaboration and the efforts to see so many people who were willing to get together in rebuilding the mall in record time.”

Cotwal said they prided themselves in not only preserving jobs but also bolstering the workforce.

He said Pietermaritzburg had over some time proven to be a viable area of operation, which is another reason they had resolved to come back bigger and better.

The store cost more than R75m in capital expenditure together with a further R50m in stock investment. 

Msunduzi mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla said the unrest and looting in SA had severely affected businesses and employers.

He said a video of the blazing Brookside mall on social media remained fresh in his mind.

“It is for that reason that we are more than enchanted and grateful to witness the reopening of the mall.”

The July unrest had come hot on the heels of the Covid-19 lockdown’s impact. The effects of the pandemic still remained visible as some of the business doors were still shut, Thebolla said. 

UMgungundlovu mayor Mzi Zuma echoed Thebolla’s sentiments, saying the mall had played a pivotal role in the economy of the district. The mall is strategically located on the N3 corridor, often viewed as a lever in harnessing economic development.

“We are quite excited about this development. Particularly because of the unpleasant sights that were witnessed during the unrest.  The unrest had devastating effects on our economy,” said Zuma.

He said the reopening of the centre signalled economic recovery.  

The municipality drew comfort from the safeguarding of some of the jobs of the workers, who were redeployed to other branches in the aftermath of the disaster. He said the rebuilding processes had created 700 jobs.

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