Welcome to the April edition of Business Sense. As commented by Dominic Collett above a return to normalisation is very welcome. The announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa of the ending of the state of disaster holds much promise for the future.

Dr Fareed Amod is featured on the front page of this edition as well as on page 3. Dr Amod is a dentist with an entrepreneurial spirit as well as has a passion for helping others. These characteristics have allowed him to successfully merge running a business with providing the highest possible level of healthcare.

Some of the articles in this edition are:

Monique Labat, specialist in B2B Market Linkages continues her series of articles on business-to-business linkages. The theme throughout these articles is the importance of access to relevant and verified information. See page 4.

Marlene Powell asks, ‘Do you suffer from arithmophobia?’ She explains that the reality of avoiding your business numbers is not an option! See page 5.

The highly successful first KZN Top Business Masterclass featured Cathie Lewis and David White on the topic of corporate governance. Read more of their insights on page 6 and 16.

The next masterclass will feature Iman Rappetti and Neil Raath on the topic of Don’t just wing it! Why media training matters. See page 7.

Johan van Deventer, regional manager, LabourNet, KwaZulu-Natal explains the importance of payslips to both employers and employees. There are legal requirements when it comes to payslips and the potential implications when these requirements are not met. See page 9.

The Durban Chamber invites its members to participate in hosting experiential learning of KwaZulu-Natal unemployed youth. In addition, registration for the Durban Business Fair is open. See page 10.

One of the highlights of the KZN business calendar is the Standard Bank KZN Top Business Awards 2022 which are now open for entries. Visit page 11 for more information on the categories, the process to follow as well as the advantages of entering business awards.

The iLembe Business Confidence Index – 2021 Year-End makes for interesting reading especially as iLembebased businesses came back to life during the second half of 2021 with both the survey and economic activity indices being recorded at the highest level ever. See page 12.

The Durban ICC is in turbo mode to host Africa’s Travel Indaba after a two-year respite. The Durban ICC Chief Executive Officer Lindiwe Rakharebe said, “A face-to-face Indaba will allow the Durban ICC to continue making its valuable contribution to the economy, providing employment and sustaining many livelihoods in the tourism sector’s broad value chain.” See page 14.

The rebuilding of our economy on all fronts is essential for economic recovery and growth to occur. We echo Ramaphosa’s sentiments, “We are hopeful that the worst is behind us, and we are confident that there are only better days ahead. Now is the time to grow our economy and create jobs. Now is the time to get our country back on track. Now is the time to heal, to recover and to rebuild.”