CAPE TOWN - President Cyril Ramaphosa will today address the Jobs Summit as announced in his 2018 State of the Nation Address.
The Summit hopes to bring together government, business, labour, and community organisations to advance job creation. The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs department said that the Jobs Summit will discuss a common approach and work on improving coordination among stakeholders.
South Africa aims to raise employment by 11 million to 24 million by 2030 in line with the National Development Plan. The unemployment rate in SA increased to 27.2 percent in the second quarter of 2018 from 26.7 percent in the previous period.
The number of unemployed rose by 103 thousand to 6.08 million while the number of employed fell by 90 thousand to 16.29 million. The Unemployment Rate in South Africa averaged 25.57 percent from 2000 until 2018, reaching an all-time high of 31.20 percent in the first quarter of 2003 and a record low of 21.50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The rising unemployment situation in South Africa is clearly a major issue for the government and today's Jobs Summitt hopes to at the very least show that government is taking steps to address the issue.
Whether South Africans have the same sentiment is another story. On Twitter, a number of South Africans voiced their opinions and quite frankly their dissatisfaction at government.
Gareth David said: See #JobsSummit is trending, guess this will be another attempt at wasting taxpayer money.
See #JobsSummit is trending, guess this will be another attempt at wasting tax payer money with more talk and no action beyond increasing the unemployment rate due to forcing unreasonable policies down business' throats which they cannot comply to.
— Gareth David (@garethdavidza) October 4, 2018
Nkululeko Somacala-Manciya said: All I want to know is that how is this summit going to benefit a young black person in (a) rural village in Flagstaff, (an) informal settlement in Phumasilwe and Township in Tembisa?
#JobsSummit all I want to know is that how is this summit going to benefit a young black person in rural village in Flagstaff, informal settlement in Phumasilwe and Township in Tembisa? We can't be having summits that will only benefit the elite and exclude the poor
— Nkululeko Somacala-Manciya (@nkulipp) October 4, 2018
Violet Mdluli said: I hope at Jobs Summit they discuss & scrap away the barriers that prevent the qualified youth from being employed.
I hope at #JobsSummit they discuss & scrap away the barriers that prevent the qualified youth from being employed . Things like have own car, must have a drivers licence are huge barriers for many young qualified people who cannot afford it. Only the elite can have access
— hipster_heart (@violetmdluli) October 4, 2018
Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant seemed to be upbeat about the Jobs Summitt and told SABC News today that "everybody needs to come together and commit to this process."
But this did not seem to quell the vitriol and anger some Twitter users had for the summit.
Thabiso Taba said: We are a joke as South Africans. I mean how can we rely on a government of pensioners to create jobs for the 50% of young ppl.
We are a joke as South Africans
I mean how can we rely of a government of pensioners to create jobs for the 50% of young ppl
Imagine relying on ur granny to do homework’s for u, it doesn’t make sense at all
This ppl are tired mentally, physically nd spiritually #JobsSummit
— Thabiso. 👑 (@Thabiso_Taba) October 4, 2018
Business Report is calling on our readers to voice their opinion.
Will the #JobsSummit make a difference in your life?
— Business Report (@busrep) October 4, 2018
Former president of Black Business Council, Danisa Baloyi gave her expectations of the event.
WATCH
Solly Mapaila, the second Deputy General Secretary of the SA Communist Party, told Business Report what he thinks will get SA out of the unemployment rut.