Bruce Whitfield:
Ahead of World Aids tomorrow, a report has been released, showing the mining sector is suffering a drop in profitability due to the impact of HIV/Aids on the workforce. Now, the research was done by the SA Business Coalition on HIV/Aids, and the Bureau for Economic Research in Stellenbosch, and that research says 55 percent of mines, 46 percent of transport companies, and 38 percent of manufacturers have noticed a drop in profits due to the Aids pandemic.

Many corporations can carry those costs more easily than small businesses can. Lee-Anne Bac is the head of Grant Thornton’s Strategic Solutions. Lee-Anne, are you able to quantify the impact of small and medium enterprises? Quite often, they get left out of this kind of research.

Lee-Anne Bac:
Bruce, it’s not possible to quantify the exact impact that it is having on businesses, but Grant Thornton did a survey of small and medium sized businesses, and we know that 78 percent of businesses are feeling the impact. In particular, on productivity. They are noticing that the productivity levels are decreasing, and that they are losing staff.

Bruce Whitfield:
Is there any particular sector that’s being worse affected, because we see form this research out today from the BER, saying that the mining sector is being affected, that manufacturing is being affected. But among smaller businesses — is it businesses that rely on, perhaps lesser skilled workers?

Lee-Anne Bac:
Very much so, Bruce. Unfortunately there is definitely a correlation between employing unskilled or semi-skilled workers, and the impact that it is having on the business.

Bruce Whitfield:
You say you can’t quantify it, but people are beginning to notice the impact. The vulnerability of smaller companies — do you find that the smaller the company is, the more vulnerable it is to this impact of HIV/Aids?

Lee-Anne Bac:
Very much so. If you’ve employed 10 people, or even 50 people, to lose five percent or ten percent of those employees, it’s a large number, and it has a huge impact on the business.

The impact in trying to implement programmes and initiatives. It obviously takes a lot effort to put programmes and systems in place to help your employees. Whether you’re doing it for 200 or for 50, it’s a lot of effort.

Bruce Whitfield:
Are we learning any real lessons, in the South African business community, in terms of dealing with HIV/Aids? It would seem as if we keep having these conversations year in and year out.

Lee-Anne Bac:
Bruce, I think we are learning some lessons, and those lessons are that the business sector needs help.

The business owner, particularly the small and medium sized business owner, doesn’t know where to turn to actually get a system. You must remember that business owners are generally the marketing manager, the HR management, the CEO, the finance manager; they’re trying to do everything.

They are almost at a loss as to where to turn. They don’t necessarily have the financial resources, nor do they have the time or the expertise, and as I said, not knowing where to go for a system.

Bruce Whitfield:
Where are they supposed to go?

Lee-Anne Bac:
There are certain pools that have been put in place to help business owners, but I feel that perhaps the business sector needs to get together and work together to help each other.

I think that you saw, with the research, there was a release of case studies for small businesses, which I think can definitely help them. We at Grant Thornton wrote a document which was published particularly for the tourism and hospitality sector but applies to any business. It's a really practical handbook on HIV and Aids, and on what do to, where go. It’s totally free of charge; it’s totally downloadable. It really helps business owners put a basic strategy together, and tells them where to get the resources.

Bruce Whitfield:
That’s critically important. Are you finding that small business owners are taking their heads out of the sand on this issue?

Lee-Anne Bac:
Generally not. From the research that Grant Thornton have done, we find that small businesses are not taking their heads out of the sand. We’ve done the research for a couple of years in a row, and there’s been little change in the reaction or the attitude of small business owners towards HIV/Aids, which is very much ‘Let’s put our heads in the ground, ignore the issue and hopefully it’ll go away. Even though we are feeling the impact on our business.”

Bruce Whitfield:
It ain’t going away at all. Lee-Anne Bac, thank you very much indeed. Head of Strategic Solutions at Grant Thornton.