By Rorisang Modiba
- The Centre for Development and Enterprise says 12 million South Africans are jobless, with 1,000 people joining the unemployment line every day for 17 years.
- It blames corruption, red tape and bad policies, calling for reforms in labour laws, small businesses, education and the informal sector.
South Africa is facing one of the worst unemployment problems in the world, with thousands of people losing jobs every day for 17 years.
The Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) says this happened because the government has failed to act and make real changes to the economy.
CDE director Ann Bernstein said more than 12 million people want work but cannot find it. “For 17 years, 1,000 people have joined the unemployment line every day,” she said. “The government keeps avoiding the big changes needed to fix this.”
The CDE said short-term job programmes like the Presidential Employment Stimulus and the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) help only for a short time. “We need an economy that creates real, lasting jobs,” said Bernstein, BusinessTech reported.
Over the past 20 years, the number of people looking for work has grown by 42%, but the number of jobs has only grown by 15%.
The CDE blames this on corruption, failing municipalities, collapsing state companies like Eskom and Transnet, and poor policies. “When an economy doesn’t grow, jobs don’t grow either,” said Bernstein.
The group believes that if the economy grew by 4% a year, South Africa could create 400,000 new jobs every year. But political delays keep stopping progress.
It is calling for changes to labour laws, better training and support for small businesses. It wants a 12-month probation for new workers, stronger technical colleges and simpler rules to help small companies hire and grow.
Pictured above: A man with a need a job sign.
Image source: Pexels
