Khayelitsha youth: Extortion making it impossible to start small businesses

The youth of Khayelitsha said that rampant extortion is making it nearly impossible to get small businesses off the ground.

This emerged during a Presidential Youth Roundtable led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile in Khayelitsha, held ahead of the State of the Nation Address(SONA) on Thursday.

Young people raised several concerns affecting their communities, including high unemployment, gun violence, and the growing problem of business extortion.

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Khayelitsha Business Forum secretary Thokozile Qalanto said there was renewed hope last year when the government introduced the R500 million Spaza Shop Support Fund.

She said many unemployed youth believed the fund would allow them to start their own businesses.

However, Qalanto said that optimism had since faded, as business owners were being targeted by extortionists demanding "protection fees".

"We feel like SAPS [South African Police Service] is failing us because they keep on saying communities must report, but when we do, police are leaking the information," Qalanto said.

The government launched the R500m Spaza Shop Support Fund in April last year to support township-based spaza shops, which play a key role in South Africa’s informal economy.