Over 34% of Gauteng job seekers are without work and cannot put food on the table for their families. The DA is concerned that the economic plight of our citizens is being ignored while obvious solutions to the problem is available to implement.
Every day when l drive through our roads across the province there are groups of people carrying boards looking for employment, many of them hold various scarce skills like carpentry and plumbing but battle to find work. Many Gauteng residents have also endured the horrifying experience of retrenchment in the past year due to the pandemic and lockdown.
Failure by the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) to create the correct environment for private and foreign investment in the province has contributed to these latest unemployment numbers. Covid-19 and the lockdown cannot be further used as the scapegoat for the failures of government.
Specialised Economic Zones (SEZs) plays a crucial role in alleviating unemployment but can only work if all SEZS are fully operational.
Currently there is only one SEZ that is fully operationally in Gauteng which is located at the OR Tambo International Airport, while the Vaal SEZ only exists on paper.
Where the DA governs in Tshwane, the Automotive hub is up and running and is not only giving South Africans job opportunities but has also attracted foreign investment to the province. During the construction phase, this hub created 8600 short-term jobs, a purposeful step in the right direction. In addition, a further 2000 direct jobs will be created by this SEZ to alleviate unemployment.
It is this record of good governance that we are working to bring to the entire residents of Gauteng. Getting all the SEZs in Gauteng operational is what is needed to curb the rising unemployment and poverty.
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