Opinion - I am not surprised that South Africa’s unemployment rate is now sitting at 29%. The evidence is in front of me as growing numbers of people in my family struggle to find decent work.
What we lack is a vision of what our future could look like.
President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged this when he pointed out in his State of the Nation address earlier this year: “We have not built a new city in 25 years of democracy.”
He added: “I dream of a South Africa where the first entirely new city built in the democratic era rises, with skyscrapers, schools, universities, hospitals and factories.”
What also holds us back is our inability to find innovative solutions. Take the trade in rhino horn as an example.
Every year, some people in China spend billions in the mistaken belief that rhino horn has health benefits, including as a cure for cancer. In reality, rhino horn is made of keratin, the same component found in our finger or toe nails.
The problem is that rhinos are then killed for their horn, and that has put the species on the brink of extinction. To keep the rhino safe, we spend millions. But there is another approach, one that could make us billions.
We could farm rhino using the vast expanses we have in our country. If we could change the law and legally sell the horn to those who want to buy it, we could earn billions in much needed rands. In the process, we also save the rhino. The government could adopt the same approach with abalone.
The government’s only role would be to do whatever was necessary to help rhino and abalone farmers make money and pay their taxes.
We also need to get our priorities right.
The R200 million that Ramaphosa raised from business people to become ANC president could have paid the salaries of almost 5000 people for a full year.
They would have earned the minimum wage of R3500 per month but they would have worked, spent and boosted economic growth.
Every year, big business spends billions on Mandela Day. According to the South African-based consultancy, Trialogue, last year almost R10billion was spent by big business on social projects.
In reality, the figure is a lot more because Trialogue only used information from 74 companies listed on the South African bourse and a few dozen non-profit organisations.
Be that as it may, the R10bn would still have paid a quarter million people a minimum salary for a year.
But few solutions are presented and, when viable options are presented, little is done to make them a reality.
As a result, a week after the latest unemployment numbers were released, we have done nothing to create jobs or put in place plans that address this national crisis.