Hi there my name is Konrad Schoombee a Business manager living in South Africa.. I am here looking for help because life in South Africa has become a serious struggle for a white business manager.. I was born in the year 1990 which means I’m now 32 years of age. We have some business laws in South Africa called BBEEE (Broad based black economic empowerment) all companies need to get a BEE rating from government if you are not BEE certified.

Life will be a struggle for instance during covid lockdown only BEE companies received help from Government. Now to get BEE rating up you need to employ people of colour to positions of power in the company and as such your rating will increase. I was 22 years old when I first got affected by the law my company retrenched me back when I was managing their 12 depots selling Maize products they needed to employ people of colour into management positions..

so from then it’s been a serious struggle I usually got close to 12 months without work before I get a chance from some company that doesn’t have BEE status usually these companies are harsh and don’t care for the labour laws their times are usually 7am to 7pm Monday to Saturday and Sundays 8am to 6pm you can expect to earn somewhere around 7k to 9k South African rands a month in such a company as a manager which is horrible. The cheapest accommodation in my town would be a bachelors flat for 4.5k a month excluding water and electricity.. so previously going extended periods without work was ok because I had family to help me when times where tough.

I got married and had a baby in the year 2005 and in the year 2009 my wife Melanie Schoombee passed away leaving me and my son Ruben Schoombee. Since then I had a position as manager with a banana wholesaler which went really well for a long time until a huge storm in Mozambique ruined most the farm lands and they closed down 4 of my 8 depots and I got retrenched once again in November of 2022 I have now been looking for work but to no avail seems like the BEE situation in the country has gotten worse and jobs are scarce already for people of colour the average white guy like me feels like we have no chance anymore..

I have met a lovely new lady in August of 2022 which was 3 months before my retrenchment this lady also lost her Husband 2 years prior and we had allot in common to this day we understand and support each other and it feels great to have someone understand you so much so that we fell pregnant so I have a second child due in August of 2023 and this work situation is becoming a massive stress now I have tried multiple ways of making money online and it seems like Etsy might be a viable option it’s just very show currently generating about 100 rands a month which is about $5. This is a last resort and  obviously no fun having to basically beg anyone that is able to help if they could spare a few rands I have allot of baby things to buy before August and at this moment seems like my baby will enter this world with little to no physical things but we will love him/her all the same. life is precious and I will do anything in my power to try and provide for my family.

I tried to explain briefly and just touch on all aspects that are hindering progress at the moment any help would be seriously appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this may god bless everyone with a giving heart.

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