Chinese business creating jobs and boosting trade in South Africa (2)

It's better that just casting CVs seating home. Many of my friends who recently attended forklift training are working contract jobs here and it better and promising", South African Tshepo Mhlongo who is armed with code ten driver's license told Xinhua. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the first quarter of 2010 realised by the Statistics South Africa (Stats SA ) the number of people not economically active in South Africa rose by 1, 071, 000 annually, with 624, 000 being discouraged job seekers.

The survey reveals that the unemployment rate increased 0.9 of a percentage point to 25. 2%. "Since January this year I have been going around china wholesale malls looking for contact or part time jobs. I tell you its better than going to construction sites. Here they can call everyone for a job to load and off load trucks for the whole day, that job can expand to a week contacts and its better than sitting, " Maxwell Nota told Xinhua.

When Xinhua visited one of the China City Malls in Johannesburg on Saturday morning many women were seen buying lots of cloths and blankets from various shops. Taxes parked outside loading large China bags. "People are coming from as far as Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi to buy cloths for sale to their respective countries.

These people (Chinese) are helping many people to feed their families", said Chimbaira. "This mall is keeping me busy everyday, taking customers to various bus stations. It has boosted my business and that of many tax owners operation here. Many are joining but we can't fight for customers because they are so many", Nkululeko Mazibhuko, a tax owner told Xinhua.

According to women who identified themselves as informal cross boarder traders, besides creating jobs in South Africa and for people in the country Chinese are helping many cross boarder traders to feed their families across the SADC region. Chinese businesses in South Africa have become a major source of commodities and materials for trading in the region.

They are indirectly playing a crucial role towards informal cross boarder trading which has recently emerged as significant towards regional integration and boosting regional finances. According to a report released early this year by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) the average value contribution of informal cross border trade in the SADC region is 17.6 billion U.S. dollars per year, accounting for 30-40 percent of intra-SADC Trade.

"I always come here three or four times a month to buy cloths and blankets for sale back home", Malawian cross boarder trader Mercy Banda told Xinhua. "This business is helping me to send my children to school."

But 31 year old Lillian Mazimure, another cross boarder trader from Zimbabwe, still has a problem with the Chinese. "It is very difficulty to communicate one can't negotiate business with them. They can't speak English. It's just a yes or no and a, this and that talk," Lillian told Xinhua.

"If they can learn English their and our business can grow well because some end up not coming again."

Source:Xinhua
【1】 【2】