Youth unemployment a ticking time bomb: Makhura
Premier David Makhura has described youth unemployment as a ticking time bomb that needs to be addressed urgently.
Makhura addressed the first day of the Gauteng Provincial Government's two-day Economic Indaba from Wednesday which affords key stakeholders in the economic sector the opportunity to make inputs into the Gauteng City Region's (GCR) Economic Plan.
The Premier said the youth was becoming impatient at the lack of economic opportunities and added that Gauteng needed to create 5 million jobs over the next 15 years in order to achieve the target set by the National Development Plan.
According to Makhura, the national economy would function properly if the Gauteng economy does.
"We must know that many people in our province, and probably in the country, are also getting impatient with regard to an economy that is not delivering enough jobs and is not empowering enough people."
Makhura said the Economic Indaba was not just another talk shop, but a platform for everyone to try and figure out ways to get the economy growing again.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan warned that South Africa was heading for tough economic times.
He said difficult political decisions would have to be made to ensure economic growth.
"This is a time where none of us can go it alone and it's also a time where we've got to have the courage to convert ideas to implementation and learn the harsh and sometimes exciting lessons of what implementation has to teach us," Gordhan said.