Breaking 'govt monopoly' will create job opportunities, says Steenhuisen
DA leader John Steenhuisen believes the country’s unemployment crisis can only solved by breaking government monopoly and attracting big investors.
Steenhuisen on Tuesday outlined the DA's plans for the party’s first 100 days in office, should it win power in the 2024 general elections.
The official unemployment rate in the third quarter of 2023 stood at 31,9%.
“Saying there should be bullet trains does not magically make it so. Saying load shedding must end does not magically make it so. Only the hard work of legislative reform makes change possible,” Steenhuisen said, referring to previous remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“For the first time, the ANC will lose its national majority. For the first time, the ANC will lose its majority in many provinces in the country, and, for the first time, the DA has a pathway to now enter provincial and national government beyond the borders of the Western Cape while also winning our flagship province with a bigger outright majority.”
Steenhuisen said the private sector could play a huge role in job creation.
“It’s time to open up the industry to entrepreneurs and innovators and allow them to play into the space and rescue us from the darkness imposed by a state-owned monopoly. In government, the DA would reintroduce our bill to create an Independent Transmission System and Market Operator.
“This entity will be mandated to urgently establish a fully private market for the trading and distribution of electricity. We see this as a huge job creation opportunity in South Africa, and we believe we can attract huge amounts of investment just by breaking the government monopoly on this.”
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