There is much good being done by South Africans – often in spite of official directives rather than because of them. Take the example of Anthony Krijger, an entrepreneur from Westville in KZN, who wrote:
As a company we’ve been doing exactly what Mike du Toit suggests.
We’ve trained in-house when we’ve needed new warehousemen, forklift drivers, drivers etc. All our labour started life with us as being totally unskilled. We started by sending them on a course learning to drive a forklift. We’ve trained drivers by funding their driving lessons and test with the agreement that if they pass the company pays for everything. If they fail, they owe the money back. But when they pass ultimately, we refund them all their costs.
We pay to train staff on various computer and IT courses as most don’t come to us with the required skills. If there are courses that employees wish to go on, the company encourages this and pays for the course, so long as it is relevant. The results are that we’ve grown with our staff, although we are still a small family business. We have a really low (actually non-existent) staff turnover and we try to make our workplace a place where staff look forward to going to, seeing as they almost spend more time at work than leisure time with their families.
The galling thing is that in spite of this, we are still seen by authorities as a “white” non-BEE business rather than a family business that aspires to ensure staff get ahead with their careers and create a comfortable and pleasant work environment that is totally non-discriminatory in any way whatsoever.
Community member Evelyn Herzfeld was also moved by Mike du Toit’s contribution, overcoming what she says is shyness to express her opinions, and sent this email. It reads:
An additional suggestion to the excellent one proposed by Mike du Toit, which I have often thought about, is (US president) Roosevelt’s “New Deal” following the stock market crash of 1929. It would be another way to get our youth and the economy moving forward.
Instead of the monthly handout of R350, the youth should be employed all over the country for the current minimum hourly wage, to undertake all the municipal repairs that are currently outstanding – fixing roads, filling potholes, fixing sewerage problems, etc. Each team of three to be taught by a current municipal employee who can impart their knowledge and train them to have a skill. It will provide them with untaxed (under the tax threshold) money to spend on food, etc which will enhance the spend in the economy, enhance their standard of living, and get the economy moving again.
This plan could be used in tandem with the plan outlined by Mike du Toit, and in this way we will create a whole new generation of skilled labour, some of whom will go forward and start their own businesses as artisans which will benefit them and the country.
The R350 handout can then be reserved only for those families who are not benefitting from these job creation initiatives. And in addition perhaps the business community can work with the government to implement at least some of Stan Sandler’s suggestions – all those who have a voice must engage with government as much as possible to ensure the future of our country, and not just of the ANC.
And there’s some excellent advice from David Glasser in combatting the epidemic of fake news distribution. He wrote:
- In the face of adversity, there has to be a desire for the correct information.
- STOP and think about what you are hearing (these day’s people don’t often take time to think!) and from WHOM.
- ASK for clarity/verification (seek to understand).
- Discern between rumour and truth!
You have to take ownership of your own level of knowledge.
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