GNU ‘stability’ will help fight unemployment, says Steenhuisen
DA leader John Steenhuisen believes the political stability brought by the formation of the government of national unity will allow South Africa to bring down unemployment.
South Africa's jobless rate rose to a near record in the second quarter of 2024, continuing a trend that has seen the number of unemployed people grow by more than 60 per cent in ten years, official data showed Tuesday.
The unemployment rate hit 33.5 per cent between April and June, up by 0.6 percentage points from the previous quarter, StatsSA said.
That is close to the record 35.3 per cent reached in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic.
About 8.4 million people were out of work, up from 5.2 million in 2014, it said.
“It embodies an attack on the dignity of our people and a destruction of their potential,” Steenhuisen said.
“We need to overcome this challenge, and we are determined to do so.”
He emphasised that economic growth and job creation are at the core of every department run by the DA.
"In every ministry we run, economic growth and job creation are at the core, and we've taken it upon ourselves to ensure that they become the priorities of the government agenda," he added.
Meanwhile, the EFF has blamed the increase in the jobless rate on the DA, claiming its policies have worsened the unemployment crisis.
EFF MP Mbali Dlamini accused the DA of fast-tracking work visas that prioritise the influx of cheap labour from across borders and supporting changes to the Labour Relations Act that could exploit a desperate workforce.
"As the EFF has consistently stated, the only way to achieve meaningful job creation is through robust economic growth. Yet, our economy has limped along with a mere 2% growth over recent years. To truly turn the tide, we must embark on a path of radical reindustrialization driven by the state," Dlamini argued.
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