Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa has said the State plays a key role in creating jobs, and this did not mean that business was central in coordinating and planning the development of the economy.
He said while they recognised the fact that the private sector creates jobs, this did not push the State aside as it was central in the employment of people.
Ramaphosa, who was replying to the debate on his State of the Nation Address (Sona), had come under fire from the EFF, ATM and other parties that the private sector plays a key role in job creation.
But he reiterated that the private sector employs most of the people.
Ramaphosa also dismissed claims by the DA that he had taken their manifesto when he delivered his Sona.
“We do not agree that by recognising the role of business in creating employment that we diminish the central role of the State in coordinating, planning and guiding the development of the economy,” said Ramaphosa.
He said most of the policies were adopted many years ago, starting with the Freedom Charter in the 1950s to the Ready to Govern document, the RDP programme and the New Development Plan (NDP).
“As this government, we are quite clear about where our policies come from. Our policies did not form over a few years, but are defined by a constant progressive thread that spans over decades. The programme of action I outlined in the State of the Nation Address is founded on seminal documents like the Freedom Charter, the Ready to Govern document, the RDP programme as well as the NDP.
“As this government, we are quite clear on what our mandate is. We have a manifesto for which the people of this country demonstrated overwhelming support,” he said in reference to the 2019 elections.
He said the issue of jobs has raised debate in the country. This related to the roles of the state and business.
He said some of the MPs had sought to answer his question during the debate.
“The State has a clear role to play in job creation. Through state-owned entities the State employs a lot of people. Through public employment programmes, which I spoke about, the State employs people,” he said.
He added that the State also employs people through the impact of its industrial policy, the competition policy, infrastructure investment, and the public service.
“The reality in our country as in most other countries – this is now a stark reality – is that the private sector creates most of the jobs. The private sector in our own country creates three-quarters of the jobs and accounts for over two-thirds of investment, research and development expenditure.
“In South Africa the number of people employed in the public sector increased from 1.9 million in 2002 to 2.8 million in 2017. This is quite a sizable increase. Over the same period the number of people employed in the private sector increased from 8.2 million people to 13.5 million,” said Ramaphosa.
Political Bureau