Tag: crime rate

Badly-run municipalities do more than just annoy residents and lead to rubbish pile-ups – they can also be a slippery slope to wide-scale economic decline. For urban centres in particular, the signs of a badly run municipality soon become impossible to ignore, symptomatic of a loss of confidence in the economic viability of the area and fears that crime rates will rise as opportunists capitalise on vacant buildings.

Determining the true market value of a home is about more than design, amenities, kerb appeal, location and size. While those are of course important elements of home valuations, they only paint half the picture for buyers and sellers looking to enter into property transactions.

Property remains one of the best long-term investments and if you can subsidise the cost through a rental income, even better, but when deciding on where to buy your investment property, you will need to consider a number of factors to ensure the best possible returns.

South Africans have become accustomed to dealing with crime because we have no other choice. Various sources place South Africa near the pinnacle of lists of the highest crime rates in the world. If you are a South African, or someone living in South Africa, you most likely take a number of precautions at home, work and play to avoid falling victim to crime.

Free economies do not come about by chance. They are the result of the conscious creation of a business environment that is conducive to a high level of entrepreneurial activity and that has a minimum of bureaucratic red tape.

Just one year ago, the South African tourism market had set its sights on a bumper festive season that would see it sail through some of the economic challenges it has encountered, and into a brighter future. But 12 months down the line, its challenges today weigh even heavier on the market.