Business Talk – Econometrix’s Azar Jammine and CGCSA’s Abraham Nelson on South Africa’s R68 billion illicit trade problem
In this Business Talk with Michael Avery interview, Azar Jammine and Abraham Nelson discuss South Africa’s growing illicit trade economy and the consequences of failing to address it.
Jammine is the Director and Chief Economist of Econometrix and has worked at the company for over 40 years.
He has held his current position at the company since joining in 1985 and has established himself as one of South Africa’s top analysts and commentators on domestic and international economic affairs.
Jammine was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by The South African Professional Services Awards Association and has previously served as a member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation.
Nelson is the Executive Head of the Crime Risk Initiative at the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA).
He spent over 30 years with SAPS, during which he served as Section Head, before taking on his current role over ten years ago.
The CGCSA is an industry association representing over 9,000 member companies in the consumer goods, retail, and services sectors.
The interview
In this Business Talk interview, Jammine unpacks what the illicit economy is, and Nelson notes why this market had to be measured.
Jammine then explains which industries are the most vulnerable to illicit trade, and he reveals the impact that allowing such illegal markets to grow and spread will have on regular South Africans.
Nelson discusses the wider impact of allowing the illicit economy to grow and of government institutions failing to act, noting what the country could look like in ten years if it continues to ignore these problems.
He also outlines what law enforcement and the government need to do to dismantle the illicit economy.
Jammine and Nelson conclude the interview by outlining the steps they want to see taken to begin addressing illicit trade.
Watch the interview with Azar Jammine and Abraham Nelson below.
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