Job creation is government’s most pressing matter, as South Africa works to translate hard won economic gains into sustainable and tangible livelihoods for millions of citizens.
This according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who delivered the keynote address at the News24 On the Record Summit, which kicked off at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Thursday.
“Creating jobs is the foremost priority of this government. Our single greatest challenge is to translate positive economic momentum into jobs for the millions of South Africans, who remain unemployed.
“A job is more than just an income. It is about dignity, about confidence, about a sense of belonging and an ability to contribute to our community and our society,” the President stated.
Driving reforms
The President noted that after years of stagnation, economic growth is “improving, investment is expanding and more jobs are being created”.
He added that the turnaround can be attributed to government’s sustained, multi-year reform implementation – citing reforms at Eskom and Transnet as areas of improvement.
“Our reform agenda has built up significant momentum, enabling growing confidence in our economic trajectory.
“By implementing far-reaching reforms to our electricity sector, we have brought an end to load shedding and are creating an environment for businesses to invest and grow.
“The performance of our rail system and ports is improving, enabling us to increase our exports and our revenues,” he said.
Operation Vulindlela (OV) – a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury – is also accelerating implementation of structural reform.
“[OV] has enabled us to address many of the key binding constraints on our economy.
“It has made progress by focusing on a limited number of priorities with the greatest impact, developing clear, action-oriented plans, and enabling a coordinated approach across government to ensure delivery,” he said.
Social support
President Ramaphosa acknowledged that the changes South Africans would like to see have “not yet materialised”.
“Yet we can now say with confidence that we are on the right track. But growth on its own will not bring the millions of South Africans who are unemployed from the margin into the fold,” the President told the gathering.
He added that as government continues to implement structural reforms, support for the unemployed is also being expanded.
“As we implement bold structural reforms to lift growth, we are also expanding support for the unemployed to sustain productive livelihoods.
“We must continue to strengthen our social protection system to reach all unemployed South Africans with a basic level of support.
“By redesigning the Social Relief of Distress Grant, we will ensure that those receiving the grant have access to a wide range of support to search for work and to sustain a livelihood,” he said.
Uplifting the youth
Government’s efforts to create employment is also laser focused on creating pathways for the youth.
The Presidential Employment Stimulus has created in excess of 2.5 million opportunities in public and social employment over the past five years.
“The stimulus has shown that public employment is not only about providing an income to those in need. It is also about creating meaningful work that benefits communities while building skills and experience and enabling people to make a way for themselves in the economy.
“The stimulus has placed school assistants in thousands of schools and supported the restoration of rivers and wetlands. It has helped community-based organisations employ people to strengthen the fight against gender-based violence.
“These examples show that there is no shortage of work to be done – only a shortage of jobs,” President Ramaphosa said.
A central pillar of government’s strategy to tackle joblessness is youth employment.
The President noted that more than 5 million young people are now registered on the SAYouth.mobi platform which connects them to opportunities.
He issued a rallying call to the private sector to join government in fighting youth unemployment.
“We need more companies to use SAYouth to hire young people, making use of the cutting-edge technology which the network has built to set them up for success.
“Through a partnership with business, we have established the Youth Employment Service – known as YES – which has provided work experience opportunities to more than 220 000 young people.
“I call on all companies to be part of the YES drive, to enable more and more young people to take their first step into the work environment – and to provide them with the skills and experience they need to succeed in the world of work,” President Ramaphosa said.
Furthermore, the skills development system is facing reform to “link training more closely to demand in the economy”.
“We are working to overhaul the SETA system and replace it with a fit-for-purpose system that enables young people to access jobs,” he said.
Government is also supporting small businesses and the informal sector.
“That is where we can create jobs at scale. We must support businesses with potential to grow through capital, skills and market access, and by creating an enabling regulatory environment.
“We are reviewing current legislation to reduce the administrative burden on small businesses and make it easier, not harder, for them to start and grow.
“These actions represent a clear, focused strategy to position our economy for growth and to create jobs at scale,” the President said.
A nation at work, together
The President told the gathering that South Africa has the ingredients and strengths necessary to “create jobs for the economy of the future”.
“We have one of the most sophisticated financial sectors in the world. We can position South Africa as a destination for financial services companies to locate their African and emerging market operations.
“We have among the best solar and wind resources in the world. By rolling out renewable energy at scale, we can build a strong platform for growth in a wide range of sectors, from green steel to new energy vehicles.
“We have a thriving agricultural sector, producing high-value crops for the entire world. By expanding our export markets and supporting farmers to grow their production, we can create jobs in every part of our country,” he said.
However, the country’s growing exists in the context of a “time of great instability and uncertainty in the global economy”.
“The conflict in the Middle East looks set to exact a heavy toll on the economies of the world, increasing energy costs, disrupting supply chains, raising the cost of living and lowering growth prospects.
“It is therefore essential that we proceed with urgency to drive the reform and transformation of our economy while identifying the measures we need to take to mitigate the effects of the conflict,” President Ramaphosa noted.
However, there is “no doubt” that South Africa has “wind in our sails”.
“It is up to all of us now, as South Africans, as one people with a shared future, to take our country to new heights. We call on business, on labour, on civil society, on academics and on citizens to work together to drive this work.
“We call on the media to be part of informing, empowering and mobilising society to realise the promise of our Constitution and the potential of our people.
“It is by creating jobs that we will open the doors of opportunity to all, and build a society that is more equal, more stable and more united,” President Ramaphosa concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
