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The fight against illicit trade is ultimately a fight for our entrepreneurs, for the integrity of our economy and for the future we all want to build
01 June 2025 – 09:50
by Luncedo Mtwentwe
In a year already marked by economic strain and fiscal shortfalls, illicit trade is quietly looting the economy, with R100bn vanishing into a black hole last year alone. It’s an immense figure, but for many South Africans, sadly this is just another line in a budget speech; another problem for economists to debate and try and fix.
Yet for the township spaza shop owner, the small-scale alcohol distributor clinging to survival or the local wholesaler watching profits vanish, this is anything but a huge number. For them, it’s the difference between staying open and shutting down. It’s a hidden tax crippling South Africa’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the pulsing backbone of our economy. ..
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