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South Africa’s challenge is not just to regain pre-pandemic levels of economic activity, but to lift it out of an economic decline that has been brewing for several years, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In a debate on the government’s economic recovery plan in parliament on Wednesday (October 21), the president said that South Africa was already facing a jobs crisis before the coronavirus lockdown hit.
“Unlike many other national economies, we have to recover the jobs that were lost because we had to shut down a large part of the economy, but also to alleviate the plight of millions of people who were already unemployed before the pandemic”, He said.
To address these issues, Ramaphosa said the government’s immediate focus is job creation.
He said the economic recovery plan recognizes that the private sector is by far the biggest driver of employment, yet a strong emphasis has been placed on public sector jobs for short-term jobs.
“Through the stimulus to presidential employment, we are using a substantial expansion in the scope of public employment programs to mitigate unemployment and support the recovery,” he said.
Ramaphosa said that South Africa is not the only country in the world doing this, citing India’s massive public employment program.
“You look at, for example, India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which is one of the largest public employment programs in the world and has succeeded in facilitating job opportunities for Indians and alleviating poverty.
“Over the next three years, R100 billion in public investment will create hundreds of thousands of job opportunities and support livelihoods in many sectors,” he said.
Ramaphosa said jobs will be created in the Expanded Public Works Program and the Community Work Program, as well as through avenues such as “social employment in communities.”
“Social employment offers income security to those who are of working age but have not been able to find work. It provides a way to secure formal employment and entrepreneurship, particularly for women and youth. “
Private employment to take over
As South Africa’s economic recovery progresses and the reform effort accelerates, the private sector will create more jobs and consequently the scale of public employment will decline, Ramaphosa said.
“The depth of the challenges we face means that we should not choose between public employment and job creation in the private sector. We need these two approaches right now on a scale that we have not achieved before, ”he said.
Ramaphosa said this will include prioritizing small, medium and micro enterprises to ensure the country’s economic recovery is inclusive.
“These companies have the greatest potential to create jobs, empower black people, women and youth, and reduce inequality.
“In all aspects of the plan, from infrastructure development to African localization and integration to acquisitions, there is a deliberate effort to expand opportunities for SMEs and cooperatives to participate.
“This will be carried out in conjunction with a focused support program to enable SMEs to participate in manufacturing value chains,” he said.
Ramaphosa said that particular attention will be paid to supporting women-empowered SMEs as a vehicle for the economic inclusion of women and to ensure their financial independence.
Read: Mkhize warns of increase in coronavirus cases in South Africa
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