Speaker, I would like to apologise to you and the President for arriving late; I had an appointment that was quite a distance away. [Inaudible.]
Mr President, I think the majority of the people in the country agree with the Deputy President's warning that unemployment is a ticking time bomb. As we speak, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, DBSA, warned two days ago that if we are to create jobs, we need 10% growth. The Financial and Fiscal Commission, FFC, has a similar view: that, at a minimum, we need 8% to 9% growth.
Yet the Minister of Finance advised us a week or two ago that the growth rate that we will probably achieve is 3%, or 4% at best. That means we will not be able to create jobs in the manner government has promised.
Now, the big question is, what is government going to do in the light of those projections because, as the Deputy President said, unemployment is a ticking time bomb? What steps are we taking to avoid this situation? Because when these realities happen, we will be faced with a rebellion from increasing numbers of young people in this country. Why is government persisting with the idea that it will create 500 million jobs under these circumstances?