An investigation of the impact of HIV/AIDS on small business in the Vaal region

Abstract

One of the dangerous things about HIV/ AIDS is that people do not want to know about it. It is a frightening disease for which there is no vaccine and no cure. It is also sex-related and therefore treated with embarrassment by many people. Many of us are scared by what is happening. Family members, relatives, friends and work mates are falling ill and dying, often when they are quite young. Husbands, wives and infants are being struck down. People do not like to talk about the cause of death. It seems mysterious and shameful (Asma!, in Jewkes, 1999). Today it is common to hear about employers who require job applicants to prove that they are not HJV-positive before offering them work. Some business privately acknowledged the likely long-tenn effects of HIV/AIDS were one reason for the trend away from labour - intensive processes and towards increased mechanisation and higher capital investment. Unfortunately even production processes dominated by robotics can not entirely remove the human factors. People are needed to maintain, repair and re-programme the robots. Many employers and employees have already been significantly influenced by the impact of the HlV-positive condition of an employee or full-blown AIDS. This is hardly surprising, given the ever-growing number of HIV-infection (Healy, 1999). The workplace is precisely an arena where education and awareness programmes can be beneficial. Employers can contribute to employee education by providing training and educational programmes, which focus on awareness and prevention. The main objective of this research was to identify the business activities and procedures used to deal with the impact of HIV/ AIDS on Small Business. Previous studies has shown that the number of people in Small Businesses who have AIDS or are infected with HIV, is increasing steadily (Myslik, 200 I). HIV/ AIDS is seen by many businesses as such an overwhelming issue that they take the easy way out by ignoring it, or giving it minimal attention. The thesis is divided into three main sections. Firstly, a literature study of the subject is undertaken. Secondly, an empirical study is conducted by means of data collected from Small Businesses in the Vaal Region. The data is analysed and reported on. Thirdly, a munber of conclusions are drawn from the analysis of the data and a number of recommendations are made. This thesis serves as an introduction on investigating the impact of HJV/AIDS on Small Business in the Vaal Region and further research in this field, using this study as a basis, is recommended.