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The brutal assassination of Babita Deokaran was not an isolated crime. It was a symptom. A loud alarm in a system where corruption is not criminal aberration but an ecosystem

Ordinary courage propels us from silence to justice

The brutal assassination of Babita Deokaran was not an isolated crime. It was a symptom. A loud alarm in a system where corruption is not criminal aberration but an ecosystem

The Gauteng government says businesses that missed the registration window will be closed down. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Non-registered food-handling businesses risk fines, arrests and closures, government reiterates

Friday is the last day for such outlets, including spaza shops, to register in line with a government directive issued after children’s deaths from contaminated food

Accidental deaths: Products readily available in local shops are bought to deal with problems such as rats. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Deadline to register spaza shops is 17 December

Businesses that miss the registration window will be closed down

Fifty-nine learners in Giyani were taken to hospital when they fell ill after eating food provided under their primary school’s nutrition programme as well as snacks. (Limpopo Health Department)

59 learners in Giyani taken to hospital after eating food at school

The pupils fell ill after consuming a meal provided under the school’s nutrition programme and snacks

Members of the Cape Town Metro Police search a house as part of a search-and-seizure operation for drugs and weapons, in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town. (File photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP)

Gang threats lead to school absenteeism and business closures in Cape township

A letter, apparently written by gangsters in Philippi, warns they will kill Somalis if extortion fees are paid to their rivals

Cleola Kunene, Head of SME Development at the JSE; Sipho Claassen, Managing Director of Boundless Consulting; Moderator Thembekile Mrototo; Walter Bango, Senior Manager of Monitoring and Evaluation at the NYDA; and Tsholofelo Mqhayi, Head of Social Transformation at CCBSA.
Video

National plan needed to address youth unemployment?

The importance of youth economic inclusion, and unpackaging key solutions to drive it

Video

CCBSA drives economic growth and youth empowerment across South Africa

The two pillars of employability and entrepreneurship are the framework for our economic inclusion strategy

Nombulelo Gladys Mbande, 55, who is responsible for the nursery at Sozama Pre-school in KwaNobuhle township, Kariega, plays with children outside the building. The school is located opposite a dumping site where residents throw rubbish, dead-dogs and nappies.

Child deaths reveal neglect of townships

The quality of life of poor South Africans over the past 30 years continues to be ignored

Since its establishment in 2020, the Spaza-shop Support Programme has funded more than 6 000 small businesses around the country but many shop owners have bemoaned the poor communication around the scheme. Photo: Supplied

Spaza shops take centre stage in township economy

Consumers living in such areas are spending more at spazas than big retailers, according to a report

If you build it, they will come: Mall construction in QwaQwa. Big retailers have been growing their presence in township malls for a couple of decades; now they are trying out smaller formats too. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

A bigger slice of the pie: Retailers find ways to cash in on township economy

The South African informal economy market is much sought-after, with the big, formal-sector supermarkets all looking to grow their share

No evidence of ‘fake food’

Covid-19 stimulus plan won’t protect informal economy

The sector is incredibly vulnerable but has largely been overlooked in government’s neal attempts to deal with our current crisis

The report shows that the coronavirus has exacerbated poverty and inequality in the country, with women and informal workers bearing the brunt of the economic downturn. (Paul Botes/M&G)

‘Afraid, but my spaza’s open’

The police and people roving empty streets are intimidating, it’s difficult to replace stock and business has dropped

Lifesaver: Dineo Skosana, owner of the Sandwich Baron in Hatfield, Pretoria, took a loan from Fundrr after her business had a few bad months and large financial institutions turned her down. (Oupa Nkosi/M&G)

Fintech fills the funding gap

New companies are plugging the funding gap for small businesses, especially in townships

Mail & Gaurdian

Editorial: It’s inequality that breeds violence

‘The persecution of the weak and the vulnerable finds new iterations all the time’

The community responded to the death by looting the shop and assaulting the owners. (Thulani Mbele/Timeslive)

At least two dead in Soweto clashes with foreign nationals

Police are currently on scene to quell the violence and looting

Foreign spaza shop owners told the press last week they blamed recent violent looting in Soweto on allegations of fake food in the township. (David Harrison).

Townships are still a world apart

Bids to unleash their economic potential have failed largely because the motives, networks and practices of the informal economy are ignored.

Rose Nkosi likens the looting of foreign-owned shops to a righteous crusade.

Spazas: ‘Looting happened for a purpose’

Small business operators and politicians seem to be singing from the same bellicose hymn sheet.

The success of foreign-owned spaza stores comes down to competitive pricing.

Mind your own business, minister

Why is good business sense such a foreign concept, Lisa Steyn asks Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu.

Spazas: It’s not just the economy, stupid

About half a dozen people have been killed in the latest outbreak of looting and xenophobia. It appears South Africa has learnt little since 2008.

Township politics fuel the attacks on ‘outsiders’

Despite state denials that xenophobia is behind the violence, the attacks on foreign township shop owners appear to have a political edge to them.