Hon Speaker, poverty, unemployment and inequality remain the three most significant challenges facing the country. These were identified by the National Development Plan, NDP, in its 2011 diagnostic report.
Raising employment through faster economic growth has become a key priority to remedy this situation.
Regrettably, the rate of unemployment continues to rise. The quarterly unemployment survey by Statistics SA shows that unemployment, in terms of its narrow definition, has surpassed 29%. In terms of the expanded definition of unemployment, we are looking at unemployment sitting at close to 40%. This is the highest jobless rate that we have had since 2008.
In response to the unemployment challenges, President Cyril Ramaphosa convened the Presidential Jobs Summit in October 2018 with government, business, labour and other social partners. This also allowed for findings by Former President's Motlanthe high-level panel, one of which was to amend the Labour Relations Act to remove the extension to the non-parties clause or to prescribe to non-parties, recommending that this should be applicable to small and medium-sized enterprises.
The ACDP also notes that there has been a commensurate increase in unemployment together with the challenges
that we have seen in Eskom. So, in order to solve the unemployment problems that we have, it is important that we look at the energy crisis because there is a correlation between the challenges that we have in energy with the unemployment that we face in South Africa. I thank you.