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The Presidency has released its first progress report on the implementation of the ‘Presidential Employment Stimulus’, which aimed to create or support 800,000 jobs in South Africa during the current financial year.
Announced as part of the country’s coronavirus economic recovery plan in October, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the stimulus is designed to respond to rising unemployment caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Ramaphosa said this is being achieved through an “unprecedented” expansion of public and social employment, as well as through protecting existing jobs in vulnerable sectors and supporting livelihoods and business opportunities.
“Eleven national departments and the nine provinces are responsible for the implementation of the programs supported by the stimulus to employment,” the presidency said in a statement on Tuesday (December 1).
“As the progress report shows, more than 400,000 opportunities have already been supported, with several programs in the recruitment or identification phase of beneficiaries ”.
Ramaphosa said the remaining programs are on track to meet their goals. Programs that have started to date include:
- The Department of Basic Education has begun recruiting 300,000 education and general school assistants in schools in South Africa, providing critical support for schools and valuable expertise for unemployed youth;
- The National Council for the Arts and the National Film and Video Foundation have launched calls for proposals to support the creative sector and protect jobs in cultural institutions;
- The Department of Commerce, Industry and Competition has expanded the incentive for global business services to enable job creation for young people in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector;
- The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has expanded its public employment programs in water and energy efficiency, facilities management, waste management, and the Welisizwe Rural Bridges program;
- The Department of the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries has expanded its public employment programs in natural resource management, environmental protection and infrastructure;
“The speed and scale at which the presidential stimulus to employment was implemented demonstrates the government’s commitment to act urgently to support South Africa’s economic recovery,” the presidency said.
The presidency said it will provide regular updates on the progress of these programs.
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