On 2026-07-03 11:34:36 slick70 said:
Unfortunately locals are unskilled and we need foreigners to run businesses properly.
Every time we have advertised positions to fill. Its always foreigners who apply.
I was watching an interview on SKY news.
The immigration problem in SA.
In line with slick70 sweeping statement.
Those informal little spaza shops in the townships.
The little food stalls on the side of the road....making life for the locals easier and more affordable.
The question was...why did south Africans and, in this case I ask the REAL SOUTH AFRICANS, not step into these little business opportunities bfr the immigrants arrived?
In the interview, they went through the cost of having that little spaza shop.
From having money to buy the goods sold, to security to paying the landlord...a South African ofcourse , rental. To diligently keeping that store open come hell or high water.
By the way , NO landlord would take on a tenant if the were not sure the monthly rental would be met. Which speak to the credibility of the little informal business .
And, How such little jnformal businesses feed into SA economy.
It shall be interesting to see how many business orientated REAL SOUTH AFRICANS shall show up where the immigrants left off.
And simply like a stuck LP, harping that the illegals must leave...of which nobody contests including me and many other TRUE REAL SOUTH AFRICANS, is weak and speaks of the usual rhetoric one hears when there is no plan going fwd....looking for a scapegoat for another decade of failed governance.
RB.
People without documents get away with a lot
On 2026-07-03 12:53:09 Sexyhumour said:
ILLEGAL I stand on that word ILLEGAL... ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS must go back home, get proper documents so when they travel they can be in the system and incase they misbehave or anything happens then they are traceable...
People without documents get away with a lot
Not as much as you think. Most criminals are South African.
On 2026-07-03 14:50:27 PortoButcher said:
On
Not as much as you think. Most criminals are South African.
And in the police or parliament.
On 2026-07-03 14:50:27 PortoButcher said:
On 2026-07-03 12:53:09 Sexyhumour said: ILLEGAL I stand on that word ILLEGAL... ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS must go back home, get proper documents so when they travel they can be in the system and incase they misbehave or anything happens then they are traceable...
People without documents get away with a lot
Not as much as you think. Most criminals are South African.
Being in a foreign country illegally is a crime...
On 2026-07-03 12:31:10 Russian Bridgitte said:
On 2026-07-03 11:34:36 slick70 said: Unfortunately locals are unskilled and we need foreigners to run businesses properly.
Every time we have advertised positions to fill. Its always foreigners who apply.
Those informal little spaza shops in the townships.
The little food stalls on the side of the road....making life for the locals easier and more affordable.
The question was...why did south Africans and, in this case I ask the REAL SOUTH AFRICANS, not step into these little business opportunities bfr the immigrants arrived?
RB.
South Africans didn't lose the township economy because they lacked skill --- they lost it because the state stopped protecting them.
South Africanowned spaza shops, salons, and small retail businesses were raided, fined, or closed for compliance issues.
Immigrantowned shops --- often operating without tax registration, municipal permits, or safety compliance --- were left untouched.
Some officials actively facilitated this imbalance through bribes, creating an unfair playing field.
South African entrepreneurs who are qualified or experienced refuse to work for exploitative wages or abusive conditions, so they stepped back from sectors where labour practices become informal and unregulated.
This is not a reflection of South African capability.
It's a reflection of state failure, corruption, and unequal enforcement.
Instead of sounding like a broken record, very valid and engaging points made.
Yes Sandon, I agree with your sentiment...and said it moons ago on this thread and on another thread.
On this point though
Quoting you.
"...This is not a reflection of South African capability.
It's a reflection of state failure, corruption, and unequal enforcement."
As to wages. Yes they haven't kept up with inflation in ANY field from the qualified to the housekeeper or gardener.
I am sure u know how finances and affordability goes. The Balance sheet to the Profit and loss statement. The bottom line that counts.
Apart from the gvnmt corruption, raping and looting of state coffers, meaning stealing YOUR AND MY hard earned monies, what else do YOU think has made the foreign investment dry out and many take their business away?
What does accountability look like?
When does accountability by the South African take place?
When will the TRUE AND REAL SOUTH AFRICAN, as Ms Sexyhumor said, in capital letters, dare to admit to their part in the failure of governance in OUR country?
Especially when those qualified positions and seats around the boardroom table, in parliament, requiring an astute and knowledgable mindset, since the dawn of DEMOCRACY, definitely do not reflect qualification but rather,the tone of ones skin.
You did vote them in ? Didn't you? And if you didn't vote them in , i mean the gvnmt, or vote at all, you have no right to complain as to the state of the nation.
Lets talk about a sustainable food system, food security...Rhodesia / Zimbabwe i remember learning was,called the breadbasket of Africa. A power house.
Then the scramble to OWN the land. Land was GIVEN to those closest to Mugabe. The fodder dried up, livestock died and the production cycle of a strong agriculture that made Rhodesia South Africas greatest competitor, dried out. Mugabe became a master , a hungry looting dictator with a South African wife by his side.
...The birth of a desperate hungry nation at the hands of their own.
It seems everybody wants that hefty pay cheque, that position, the fancy car, own house to call home...a piece of land.
But. Does that "everybody " understand the blood, sweat and tears that come with it? The fight to keep ones position that one yearned for and worked for?
I dont think so.
Your post unfortunately confirms my sentiment.
You do know a savy gardener who understands the value of money...may buy a home years bfr many who claim to have a qualification and suffer from entitlement....sorry. Again your post points to that....the entitlement thing.
RB.
Edited: 2026-07-04 14:39:47
On 2026-07-03 11:34:36 slick70 said:
Unfortunately locals are unskilled and we need foreigners to run businesses properly.
Every time we have advertised positions to fill. Its always foreigners who apply.
Majority of employers out there employ undocumented foreign workers because they accept to work for less than the minimum wage, they don't report labor abuses because they can't. Will you work from 6am until midnight for R150. This is not an assumption but if you do watch the news, it has been stated numerous times by illegal foreigners. I think it is shocking, sad and unfair. Illegal foreigners are afraid of deportation so they settle for anything. It has nothing to do with being skilled or unskilled. Many South Africans are skilled. Let's not forget we are living in a Country which is now overpopulated with resources that South Africans can not benefit.
South Africa is the ONLY country in the world that takes care of everyone but not South Africans. My heart breaks when I think about the children that were killed in the townships last year. They bought goodies from spaza shops and lost their lives. Our Goverment did absolutely nothing. Those spaza shops were still operating by illegal foreigners while those innocent souls were getting buried. It is a criminal offense to be in ANY Country without legal documentation.
It's all about exploitation, Our Goverment that has not been governing, unfairness, crimanitality, drugs, less resources availble for South Africans and most importantly the suffering of the people of South Africa.
On 2026-07-04 14:39:48 Armani ( Your Secret Lover ) @ said:
On 2026-07-03 11:34:36 slick70 said: Unfortunately locals are unskilled and we need foreigners to run businesses properly.
Every time we have advertised positions to fill. Its always foreigners who apply.
Majority of employers out there employ undocumented foreign workers because they accept to work for less than the minimum wage, they don't report labor abuses because they can't. Will you work from 6am until midnight for R150. This is not an assumption but if you do watch the news, it has been stated numerous times by illegal foreigners. I think it is shocking, sad and unfair. Illegal foreigners are afraid of deportation so they settle for anything. It has nothing to do with being skilled or unskilled. Many South Africans are skilled. Let's not forget we are living in a Country which is now overpopulated with resources that South Africans can not benefit.
South Africa is the ONLY country in the world that takes care of everyone but not South Africans. My heart breaks when I think about the children that were killed in the townships last year. They bought goodies from spaza shops and lost their lives. Our Goverment did absolutely nothing. Those spaza shops were still operating by illegal foreigners while those innocent souls were getting buried. It is a criminal offense to be in ANY Country without legal documentation.
It's all about exploitation, Our Goverment that has not been governing, unfairness, crimanitality, drugs, less resources availble for South Africans and most importantly the suffering of the people of South Africa.
Brilliant post.
Edited: 2026-07-04 16:32:20
For me, education, is the most important foundation to a prospering, self sustainable society.
Some time back I was part of a group that identified 53 schools in Soweto for a project.
An initiative identified by the pvt business sector.
Big players.
The project was aimed at getting the SGB's more involved in the schooling system. Assist them, mentor them as to the important role they play in the education of their children.
SGB, for those not sure what it stands for...School Governing Board.
SGB is comprised of teachers and parents...BUT the very core is, parents voted in by other parents.
The preparation was huge. Kids excited, preparing for that big day when THEIR parents would witness and, be part of their education .
These were South African kids. These were South African parents.
You wanna know what the percentage attendance was and how it dwindled to nothing.
If 40% overall showed up , was too much. And what happened to the 40%?...they gave up.
What happened to the project? Another written off failed attempt.
What is sad is that there is no accountability for the many many children who have lost their lives, fell pregnant, raped and murdered at the hands of their own South Africans.
Where is the empathy for the forgotten, the never mentioned that didn't make news headlines?
My heart is heavy...and in no way to undermine the tragedy and loss and pain of the families that lost their little ones, to food poisoning.
But, it is mighty unfair to play on THAT sentiment , single it out and use it as a justification and reason why the TRUE REAL SOUTH AFRICAN is enraged at a state of OUR country.
Again.
Where is the accountability by the TRUE REAL SOUTH AFRICANS?
Being a good citizen of a country comes with responsibility not only toward self but, toward ones fellow citizen.
Since the dawn of democracy, more than 30 years ago, how many children have lost their lives all thanks to those who voted a corrupt govnmt over and over back into power or, even worse, have never made an effort to vote .
Scapegoating...I hold to it...an election is around the corner...I wonder if anybody has realised the repetitive manipulative patterns engaged in, to garner support. Not for the bettering of a segregated society and a country in financial crisis but, simply to lay their hands on power snd further self enrichment
ADDENDUM : my contributions are NOT in defense of illegal immigration.
RB.
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