Pretoria - Government has officially released its Mid Term Review Report, which provides progress on the implementation of the commitments it has made.
November 2011 marked the mid-point of the 2009-2014 electoral term of the current administration and in line with that, the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation carried out a Mid Term Review of government.
The report was released by Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane, in Pretoria, on Friday.
The review focuses on government's progress against the delivery agreements for the 12 outcomes. The outcomes are focused on national priorities such as education, health, crime and corruption, jobs and rural development.
The Department for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation has been monitoring progress on the implementation of the delivery agreements for the outcomes and reporting quarterly to Cabinet and the President.
Speaking about government's priority of creating jobs, Chabane said although sufficient jobs were not created to meet the demand, government has made significant advances in the coordination of growth strategies, the New Growth Path and Stakeholder agreements.
"We have made progress with labour absorbing industrial development strategies in manufacturing, mineral products, procurement reform and the Jobs Fund. We have also made progress with improving competitiveness and reducing costs in minerals beneficiation, automotives and clothing."
According to the report, significant procurement reforms to promote employment were achieved in 2011 with South Africa recording possibly up to 350 000 jobs in the course of the year.
However, the report notes, employment levels were still below those of 2008, before the recession with the current employment ration still well below the modest target of 45% by 2014.
The report notes that the Jobs Fund, announced by President Jacob Zuma last year, had committed only R425 million of its R2 billion budget for 2011/12.
The task of coordinating job creation initiatives across departments has proven to be challenging, resulting in slow implementation of decisions, especially where complex coordination is involved.
The report cites the problem of youth unemployment as among serious challenges facing the country.
"Government is taking a multi-pronged approach to youth employment. In addition to plans to stimulate higher growth that supports more entry-level employment opportunities, the strategy includes improved and affordable education, especially for young people from poor households; expansion in further and higher education and training; improved health care, with targeted programmes on teen pregnancy; early childhood development; and HIV and AIDS and career guidance and counselling," reads the report.
It said a youth employment incentive, which is currently under discussion at the National Economic Development and Labour Council, had been proposed.
The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) was in the process of finalising the National Youth Development Plan and the Integrated Youth Development Strategy for Cabinet, which focus on employment creation and economic participation by the youth. NYDA is said to have helped create 18 048 jobs in 2010/11.
During his State of the Nation Address earlier this year, President Zuma announced that the Industrial Development Cooperation (IDC) had by February this year approved R1.5 billion for 60 companies to promote job creation. This was part of the R10 billion set aside by the IDC for job creation.
With regard to increasing competitiveness, the report points to definite progress in the implementation of the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP), and jobs drivers in some sectors, including minerals beneficiation, autos and clothing.
It highlights key developments in green growth through the implementation of a solar water heater programme and through commitments on renewable energy in the independent power producer (IPP) process.
Over 8 500 solar geysers were installed across South Africa during the two-week UN climate summit held in Durban with government targeting one million homes by 2014.
