Mpumalanga creates jobs for its people

Friday, February 27, 2015

Pretoria - Mpumalanga’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) created 36 450 work opportunities against a target of 23 552 in the first six months of the current financial year.

“The main beneficiaries of these opportunities were young people, women, and people with disabilities,” Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza said on Friday during his State of the Province Address (SOPA).

EPWP was expected to achieve the annual target of 57 599 work opportunities by 31 March.

According to Statistics South Africa, the province created only 11 000 jobs between the first quarter and the last quarter of 2014.

The province’s Integrated Youth Skills Development Plan programme has created jobs and training opportunities for young people.

“Our partnership with Eskom has resulted in the recruitment of 1 847 trainee artisans, 465 technicians and 126 engineers,” Premier Mabuza said.

The programme will be completed in 2017. SA Breweries has also committed itself to train 60 artisans.

The youth plan was designed to support out-of-school youth through job creation, entrepreneurship and SMME support programmes as well as skills development initiatives in economic sectors such as mining, manufacturing, agriculture and tourism.

The province is planning to establish a Mpumalanga Fortune-40 Young Farmers Incubator in the next financial year.

“This programme is expected to create 200 direct jobsand 100 jobs will be added each year for the next three years.

“The incubation programme will be operated under a strategic partnership with the private sector to mentor future commercial farmers,” he said.

Premier Mabuza said the programme will have 20 youth-owned SMMEs and 20 youth-owned cooperatives recruited into an incubator programme operated in four farms throughout the province.

The incubator will also train youth in farming high-value crops mainly for the export market.

“In partnership with private and public sector companies, we will establish Fly Ash Brick Manufacturing Incubators aimed at building a robust SMME-dominated construction materials sector, using our abundant fly ash waste,” he said.

The first incubator plant will incubate three SMMEs and one co-operative.

“With a production capacity of 13 000 000 bricks per annum, it is set to create 80 permanent jobs for the youth within the Govan Mbeki Municipality,” Premier Mabuza said.

He said phase one of the initiative would be rolled out in the Gert Sibande District, with the first plant in Govan Mbeki Local Municipality due for opening in June 2015. 

The incubators will supply bricks for the construction of low cost houses in the province, especially in the Gert Sibande and Nkangala Districts.

“A second facility will be opened in March 2016 in Emalahleni Local Municipality to create an additional 80 jobs targeted at young people,” Premier Mabuza said. 

He said the share of Mpumalanga’s population, who live below the poverty line, decreased during the last couple of years to 36.2% in 2013 from 51.1% in 2009.

“The public sector accounted for most of the net jobs created in the province since 2008.

“Out of 86 710 jobs created between 2008 and 2014, 53 173 jobs were created in the community and government services,” Premier Mabuza said. – SAnews.gov.za