Presidential employment stimulus plan on track, more than 400 000 jobs created

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the employment stimulus initiative earlier this year as part of an effort to create employment opportunities following many people losing their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the employment stimulus initiative earlier this year as part of an effort to create employment opportunities following many people losing their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Published Dec 1, 2020

Share

The presidential employment stimulus plan is on track to create thousands of job opportunities, the presidency says.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the employment stimulus initiative earlier this year as part of an effort to create employment opportunities following many people losing their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The move was announced as part of a broad effort to reconstruct the economy as it recovers from the pandemic, Ramaphosa had said.

It is meant to see the creation of 800 000 opportunities with R13 billion committed in the first year and over R100bn committed to employment opportunities by the government for the next three years.

"This is being achieved through an unprecedented expansion of public and social employment, as well as through the protection of existing jobs in vulnerable sectors and support for livelihood and enterprise opportunities," the presidency said.

In a short progress report posted on the presidency's website on Tuesday, just over 400 000 employment opportunities had been created.

The programmes that have commenced to date include:

• The department of basic education has commenced employment of 300 000 education and general school assistants at schools across South Africa, providing crucial support for schools as well as valuable experience for unemployed young people.

• The National Arts Council and the National Film and Video Foundation have released calls for proposals to support the creative sector and protect jobs in cultural institutions.

• The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has expanded the Global Business Services incentive to enable job creation for young people in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.

• The department of public works and infrastructure has expanded its public employment programmes in water and energy efficiency, facilities management, waste management and the Welisizwe Rural Bridges programme.

• The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries has expanded its public employment programmes in natural resource management, environmental protection and infrastructure.

"The speed and scale at which the presidential employment stimulus has been implemented demonstrate government’s commitment to act with urgency to support South Africa’s economic recovery," the presidency said.

Political Bureau

Related Topics: