SOUTH AFRICA: Lack of jobs causes Ramaphosa ‘sleepless nights’
In one of his first public engagements since his party won last week’s general election, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said the main priorities of his new administration are job creation, fixing state-owned enterprises, reducing the size of government and dealing with corruption, reports BBC. At 27.6 %, unemployment is at its highest since 2017, […]
South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa.
In one of his first public engagements since his party won last week’s general election, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said the main priorities of his new administration are job creation, fixing state-owned enterprises, reducing the size of government and dealing with corruption, reports BBC.
At 27.6 %, unemployment is at its highest since 2017, for young people the figure is double. Speaking at an investor conference in Johannesburg, Mr Ramaphosa said the jobless rate gives him sleepless nights, adding that government is working on measures to stimulate economic growth that will aid job creation. He also called on the private sector to create one million job opportunities for young people in the next three years.
According to Mr Ramaphosa, state power utility, Eskom which has around $30bn (£23bn) of debt on its books, will not be allowed to fail. He said a credible business plan is already being implemented. He also eased labour union concerns by stating that the utility would not be privatised.