Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi is once again giving our unemployed residents, particularly the youth, false hope on reviving his Nasi Ispani programme. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the second quarter, released today, paints a grim picture of the unemployment numbers in Gauteng. The unemployment rate currently stands at 33.8%.
Currently, there are 2,645,000 unemployed residents in Gauteng and 595,000 discouraged job seekers. Furthermore,10.3 million young people are not in employment, education, or training (NEET). Yet, in May this year, Premier Lesufi announced that he would revive the Nasi Ispani programme targeting the youth who fall under the NEET category.
If Premier Lesufi is serious about rooting out unemployment in the province, he would ensure that crime is brought under control, curb corruption and that every cent spent by the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) is done openly and transparently.
Instead of doing this, he releases heavily redacted forensic reports, and this does not inspire the private sector to invest in the province. The government’s responsibility is not to create jobs but rather to create an environment that will inspire the private sector to invest in the Gauteng economy. Our residents deserve permanent job opportunities, not short-term employment.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng demands that the Premier, along with the MEC for Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, clean up the GPG and take immediate steps to remove officials implicated in corruption, not reshuffling them to other departments. Furthermore, releasing the lifestyle audit reports that the Premier is constantly talking about will go a long way in boosting investor confidence.
A DA-led Gauteng provincial government would immediately root out corruption by implementing the recommendations from the forensic reports. Where it is recommended that criminal charges be laid, we will do so. Furthermore, we would ensure that implicated officials are barred from any government position.