| by Solly Msimanga MPL – DA Gauteng Premier Candidate Date: 15 May 2024 Release: Immediate The Gauteng unemployment rate has increased by 63 000 despite Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s Nasi Ispani programme which is meant to create thousands of job opportunities for the unemployed in the province. Lesufi claimed that the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) would be empowering 500 000 unemployed residents by providing them with job opportunities. This increase in the unemployment rate clearly shows that this programme is failing and is nothing but a political ploy by the current government to garner votes.
The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released this week shows that for the first quarter of 2024, unemployment in the province has increased from 2 565 000 to 2 628 000. Furthermore, there are 534 000 discouraged job seekers in the province. This shows that this government has failed to create a conducive environment for the private sector to invest in the Gauteng economy. It is high time that Premier Lesufi understands that the government alone cannot create employment opportunities without private partnerships. For the longest time, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has been calling on the current government to cut red tape and clamp down on corruption to boost investor confidence. Gauteng residents deserve a government with clear plans to tackle unemployment in the province and create sustainable jobs. The DA has a plan to rescue Gauteng from the jaws of unemployment by boosting economic confidence through better provincial governance. This has proven to work in the Western Cape and DA-run Midvaal, where hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created collectively over the past five years. When we take office after the general elections in the next two weeks, we will make sure that the school curriculum offers subjects that will produce the skills needed for a changing economy that is more dependent on technology. We will identify high-growth economic sectors for possible job creation and develop partnerships. |