Hon Chairperson, hon members and fellow South Africans, Minister, the time for talk and lip service is over. The
time has come for you and your government to put action to words. You only need to look at the ravaged economy which is evident everywhere to understand and feel the dilemma of our unemployed.
Looking at the gross domestic product, GDP, of the first quarter of this year that dropped by a mammoth 3,2%, it is impossible for you to not see the real state of the labour market and the continuous increase in unemployment. Currently, more than 50% of South Africans are living in poverty.
Looking at the unemployment statistics, government will have to move away from hosting job and investments summits and move towards adopting a summit strategy on how South Africa and its employers will go about adapting to the constant changing demands of our labour market. Government can no longer raise the hopes of job seekers through these summits but must offer solutions for real problems such as a slow growing economy and an unskilled and uneducated work force.
One thing that is abundantly clear is that our labour laws and regulatory authorities are harsh, complex and to a great extent, invasively excluding millions of South Africans from accessing employment opportunities.
Government should ensure that labour regulations go hand in hand with an economic policy that stimulates growth.
Minister, you say that you are going to take necessary steps to ensure that inspections and enforcement services are adequately resourced. Minister, you have to tell us how and when?
At the end of the 5th Parliament, we saw amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Fund, UIF, with the President trumpeting the paternity leave and other extensions to this legislation as a - Listen to this - breakthrough but unfortunately it has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many fathers.
Hon Minister, your departmental officials were - And listen to this
- unable to roll out a simple legislation as they had not done the administration and paperwork in this regard. Seven months down the line South Africans still cannot claim paternity leave, totally unacceptable.
Government needs to now show the 27,6% or plus minus 10 million unemployed South Africans how they plan on creating employment through inclusive economic growth. What programs are in place to
ensure a skilled and workable workforce is established and how it will create a better South Africa, Africa and the world?
Standing here today, I can state that, currently, our manufacturing industries together with our mining industries are in decline, causing more and more employees to become statistical figures. The majority of the unemployed in these industries are those unfortunately in the lower income bracket who do not have the relevant qualifications to apply for other employment, do not have the means to further educate themselves or have just given up looking for a job.
Hon Chair, if one compares a country like Germany with an unemployment rate of 3,1% with South Africa's 27,6%, that overwhelmingly includes half of its youth, which according to the World Economic Forum's 2014 Global Risk Report, South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates for youth between the ages of 15 and 24. This could only be ascribed to the current education system which is failing thousands of our learners every single year.
Education, as Tata Madiba said, "No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated." Having been given one of the highest dividends of the national budget, education remains a
failure with a high rate of dropouts, repetitions and the majority of our learner's being progressed without gaining the appropriate knowledge and skills required to further their studies and being able to enter the labour market.
We stand on the verge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which in all essence is going to add to the unemployment rate as many new projects are designed around automation and robots, artificial intelligence and 3D printers, which have astounding capabilities and will most definitely keep the number of workers at a much lower scale than five years ago.
Once again, it is therefore imperative that co-ordination and collaboration takes place between the Department of Employment and Labour with other departments like, Basic Education, Higher Education and Science and Technology to ensure that our learners are skilled in this field to remain competitive in the jobs market.
Minister, the question you have to ask yourself is: Whether South Africa is ready for the impact that the Fourth Industrial Revolution and what impact will it have on the labour market, if there is going to be impact, which I believe will definitely have? What will government do to ensure that all platforms in respect of economic
growth are addressed with action plans and implementation dates in place?
Hon Chair, the Minister spoke of amendments to the Wage Bill but did not mention a word on the public sector wage bill which amounts to over R500 billion, which is threatening South Africa's financial situation. The spending on the public service is hampering our economic growth and job creation. It is a fact that the ordinary South Africans who is struggling to make ends meet, are the ones who will be hit the hardest, and you cannot deny it as they will have to fork out even more on an above inflation public sector wage agreement.
In light of this, we must ask ourselves; how many more jobs could have been created had we not been forced to agree to this above inflation public sector wage agreement. We all know that South Africa is in dire need of more police on our streets, nurses in our hospitals and teachers in our schools.
Apart from the above, in the 2016-17 financial year this department had irregular expenditure of plus minus R257 million and fruitless and wasteful expenditure of plus minus R129 million, which could have been utilised in creating more jobs for our millions of the
unemployed. With due respect Minister, what remedial action has been taken to address this? I have seen nothing. For the past five years, calls have been made by the Auditor-General to implement remedial action, but alas, fellow South Africans, individuals are eventually only suspended and kept on full pay, with no criminal charges laid.
Hon Chair, in 2018, when President Ramaphosa was elected as the President of South Africa, we all greeted with the New Dawn and the Ramaphoria with euphoria, experiencing the surge on the rand and government bonds, coupled with him explaining in detail, the reform strategies he would put in place, like reforming the struggling economy, cracking down on corruption and the replacement of nonperforming Cabinet Ministers. But alas, so far, it has been lip service and will in all probability remain as such.
The President' state of the nation address saw many feel good spending pledges, but again, no detail on the funding was forthcoming.
Hon Chair, another point of discussion is the appointment of Minister Nxesi to the Department of Employment and Labour. As a former leader of the main teachers' union, hon Nxesi had been criticized - yes, Minister, you were - for defending irregular
government expenditure on Zuma's private home - the infamous Nkandla whilst he was the Public Works Minister. A union leader is unlikely to ease labour laws to make it easier to do business.
It would bode this department well to look towards the Western Cape to understand the dynamics of bringing about change in respect of the unemployment rate. The DA-led Western Cape is the province with the lowest unemployment rate in the country - yes in the country; you can say what you like.
Since the third quarter of 2009, the Western Cape has created over half a million jobs and 2,52 million people in this province can say they now have a job, it is a fact. [Interjections.] - We are in labour and employment has nothing to do with land.
Despite experiencing one of the worst droughts on record, the Western Cape was able to create 29 000 jobs during the 2018-19 financial year. This, hon Chair, needs to be applauded. Whether you like it or not, you have to face the facts.
According to the DA's economic plan, South Africa will succeed in bringing about economic freedom, fairness and opportunities if we focus all our efforts on enabling employers to create employment.
In conclusion, we cannot deny that we are in deep economic trouble and no country can create jobs without economic growth. We can no longer expect ordinary citizens to foot the bill for government's continuous failures.
The call is therefore upon you, hon Minister, and your department, to provide clarity on your intervention plans, coupled with implementation dates and budgetary requirements to be able to show ordinary South Africans that you are serious about their future and the future of generations to come. Before I leave the podium, I have 12 seconds. Hon Koni, speak about the land when it is your turn.
Thank you. [Applause.]
Xitsonga: