CAPE TOWN – President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on all stakeholders to roll-up their sleeves and create the much needed jobs in the country.
“This summit has achieved what it set out to do. The nation eagerly awaits our speedy and sustained implementation of this historic agreement which brings new hope to our country and to our partners in the global community,” said President Ramaphosa on Friday.
Wrapping up the two-day Jobs Summit, the President lauded the summit for achieving its target which is to carve a roadmap on how to drive job creation, job retention and boost the country’s economy.
The framework agreement signed on the first day of the summit was highlighted by the President as providing a clear and direct plan to address the staggering unemployment which sits at 27.2%.
National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) constituencies signed the historic framework agreement, which includes practical actions such as:
- Investment of R100bn (over five years) in black enterprises and firms in the industrial sector;
- Bizniz in a Box Youth Empowerment Programme to equip young people with entrepreneurial skills and actual business opportunities;
- Commitments at the sectoral and company level to support local procurement of goods and services to boost employment and job retention;
- Finfind youth employment and SMME funding to provide training for unemployed youth;
- R1.5 billion for a new Smallholder Support Fund and R1.5 billion for the Township Enterprise Fund;
- Various interventions to create career pathways for the youth through programmes at TVET Colleges, the Installation Repair and Maintenance Initiative, and in the fields of health and, travel and tourism;
- Expansion of a Hub Model and incubators for SMME development;
- Harambee, working with all social partners, will strengthen its pathway management system to ensure that 1.5-million young people are part of an active network of work seekers and, that 500000 young work-seekers are able to enter first jobs or on pathways to generating an income to sustain themselves;
- Up-scaling the implementation of the 30% set aside of government spend for SMMEs and co-operatives;
- Strong focus on Early Childhood Development (ECD), including the KYB Enterprise Incubator, to support women-owned ECD centres;
- Building of 48 catalytic human settlement projects which will provide 635 0000 housing opportunities by 2019;
- Workplace equity and representation on company boards;
- The Framework Agreement sets up a mechanism to address regulatory constraints to investment;
- Reporting by business on executive pay ratios in annual reports;
- Measures to address customs fraud and illegal imports;
- Extension of the Employment Tax Incentive for a further 10 years;
- Establishment of nine Agri-parks to promote agriculture and agro-processing and value chain;
- Acceleration of productive land reform;
- Community-based and owned approaches to fast track rural water access;
- Increasing recycling tonnage to 2.7-million tonnes over five years;
- Establishing a Presidential Climate Change Co-ordinating Commission; and
- Commitment to support the anti-corruption strategy and implementing a zero-tolerance approach to corruption.
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