YOU know the world is losing its moral compass when we start regarding drug dealing and selling sex as transactions worthy of being included inStatistics SA's calculation of the country's GDP.

YOU know the world is losing its moral compass when we start regarding drug dealing and selling sex as transactions worthy of being included inStatistics SA's calculation of the country's GDP.

Forget for a moment how or who will be checking how much the ladies of the night and gigolos charged and how many people sought their services, including such transactions in official statistics sends an unfortunate message about the values we espouse as a society.

Sex work is currently illegal and should therefore not be in the basket of activities that contribute to the economy.

By this relativist standard, we might as well include car thieves, bank robbers, child traffickers and assassins.

South Africans of good conscience should oppose this. It is not enough to argue this is a global trend. Economic growth should not be at any cost.