All companies doing business in South Africa will likely be compelled to report on the impact of Aids by the end of 2003, a leading labour consultancy firm said on Wednesday.
”Aids is the single biggest factor affecting South African businesses and will remain so for the next decade,” said Andrew Sykes, Chief Executive of NMG-Levy consultants.
”Foreign investors know very well the size of the problem and don’t believe it one bit when we say Aids levelling off. They want to be convinced that our business is viable,” he added.
South Africa has the highest number of people — around 4,7-million — living with HIV/Aids than any other country in the world. This year, the government said current infection rates of 24,8% might be levelling off.
The country also boasts some of the world’s biggest miners and is by far the biggest economy on the continent, attracting world-class manufacturing, service and financial investments.
That could all change as a growing Aids pandemic sends labour costs spiralling and decimates markets, forcing businesses to relocate to countries where the disease is not so prevalent.
Currently, industry experts say about one percent of South African firms — big and small — have assessed the impact of HIV/Aids despite the fact that over 90%will be materially affected.
Pressure for increased transparency is growing and formulation of a minimum standard for Aids reporting in the country are at an infant stage.
At its most basic level, Aids reporting will be expected to answer questions like the number of people infected with HIV in the company, economic impact on customers, direct and indirect costs, what programmes are in place, how much they cost and how much is being saved.
”The NMG-Levy view is that global investors will be increasingly keen on strict Aids/HIV reporting here as they need a baseline from a relatively sophisticated, industrialised economy,” Sykes said.
”If only as a frame of reference for later in the decade when western investment in China could be affected by AIDS in East Asia,” he added. – Reuters