Tag: unemployment

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.

There has certainly been plenty of foolishness, as a new generation of day-traders have pushed meme stocks, special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and cryptos to ridiculous levels. Battle-hardened investment professionals have not been immune to bouts of irrational exuberance either.

Global Entrepreneurship Week celebrated entrepreneurs and aims to inspire more young people to make their mark in society. It's a timely reminder that we need to support youth entrepreneurship in South Africa to address our unemployment crisis and catalyse economic growth.

The realisation came when I least expected it. We had been out of South Africa for five years when we met my parents, siblings and their families for a family holiday. Our children by then had gained New York accents and were stylishly attired in their overpriced fashion items, whilst the nieces and nephews marauded through the hotel in their 'Naartjie' outfits that were more akin to pajamas than to fashion.

COVID-19’s devastating grip on economies may be dominating headlines but in many parts of the world – specifically South Africa – chronic unemployment is arguably, the more debilitating 'pandemic'. With the world record for the highest unemployment rate, close to half our population (44.4%) who are eligible to work, remain unemployed.

You don’t need to be a Nobel economics laureate to know that with the world’s highest rate of unemployment, South Africa needs to attract a lot more job-creating investments. One of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s (DTIC’s) flagship programmes is the Special Economic Zones (SEZs), a new iteration of what we used to call Industrial Development Zones (IDZs).

September is Heritage Month in South Africa. As a diverse but also divided society, building a shared view of our heritage is very much a work in process. Nonetheless, all South Africans have an interest in sharing in a more prosperous economy with more jobs and less poverty.

After the shocking riots that engulfed South Africa last month, all of us in this beautiful country have cause for deep reflection, regardless of our race, religion, age or political views. Was this a singular event, why did it happen? Few would deny that the inequality in our society, poverty and unemployment of so many are among the root causes.

The proposal for a universal basic income grant (BIG) has been on the table for almost 20 years. It was first recommended by the Committee of Inquiry (Taylor Committee) into a Comprehensive System of Social Security for South Africa in 2002, after a number of civil society organisations had petitioned for it on account of persistent poverty and structural inequality.

According to Peter Attard Montalto (head of Capital Markets Research at Intellidex) the violence and looting that took place in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July 2021 cost the national retail sector R5 billion, 800 non-shopping centre stores were looted, 100 stores were burnt out, and 200 shopping centres were looted, and many destroyed. How can the country recover from such devastation - and when still enduring more than a year of lockdown and a pandemic? The answer must lie in economic and individual freedom.