Stats SA\u2019s latest Victims of Crime Survey (VOCS), released this week, shows that South Africans are reluctant to start home business due to fear of crime.<\/p>\n
The percentage of households who say they were prevented from investing in\/starting a home business because of a fear of crime increased to 11.8% in 2016, up from 8.1% in 2011.<\/p>\n
Looking at the four major provinces in South Africa, 19.9% of households in the Eastern Cape said a fear of crime impacted their decision to invest in, or start a home business.<\/p>\n
In the Western Cape, that figure was 18.7%, in KZN it was 6.4%, and in Gauteng it was 15.4%.<\/p>\n
When broken down into population groups, 11.5% of black South African households said they were prevented\u00a0 from investing in\/starting a home business because of fear of crime.<\/p>\n
Among coloured households, it was 17.4%, versus 17.5% among Indian households, and 9.8% among white households.<\/p>\n
Those who experienced theft of personal property also responded that it occurred in a shop\/place of business (13.6%) and in the workplace (11.7%).<\/p>\n
Grant Thornton\u2019s International Business Report (IBR) published in the second half of last year showed that more than half (58%) of business executives were directly affected by a threat to personal security.<\/p>\n