By Adelaide Changole.
South Africa is considering developing a statistical register for small-scale and informal businesses, amid an ongoing debate about the methodology used to compile the country’s labour statistics.
The register, if implemented, will complement the Quarterly Labour Force Survey and serve as a valuable sampling frame for improved labour market analysis, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said after meeting with Capitec Bank Holdings’s outgoing Chief Executive Officer Gerrie Fourie on Friday.
Other senior representatives from Statistics South Africa, the Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and officials from National Treasury were also at the meeting.
Fourie last month ignited a debate about the country’s real unemployment rate, arguing that it would be closer to 10% if self-employed people and those working in informal markets are counted. The official rate is 32.9%, one of the highest in the world.
“We are committed to working with the government and the private sector to help South Africa grow,” Capitec said in an emailed statement. “We believe this growth will only be achieved once the informal economy is properly understood and supported with the right policy frameworks, infrastructure, funding, and skills development.”
The government also plans to hold meetings with other stakeholders including in the short-term insurance, Ntshavheni said.