It was all about jobs creation as South African President Jacob Zuma took centre stage for his State of the Nation address to Parliament yesterday (February 10).
Acknowledging the desperate need for more jobs to counter the impact of high levels of unemployment (and associated side effects) and rampant poverty in the country, Zuma announced a jobs fund which will spend R9 billion on creating jobs over the next three years. This is a welcome call for the unemployed plus the many thousands of matriculants destined to enter the jobs market at year end (not to mention millions already finding the doors to meaningful employment closed).
Also of interest were R20 billion in tax breaks to stimulate industry, a welcome call given the economy is still battling to break the shackles of the recent recession. This will also serve to boost confidence and investment in the South African economy.
The government is also looking to extend its interests in mining with the announcement of a state owned mining company (African Exploration Mining & Finance Corporation) to tap into a share of the trillions of rands worth of assets below the ground.
Jacking up local government delivery was also a priority, said Zuma.
Discussing where the state would look to create more employment opportunities, Zuma said there were six areas government would be focusing on: infrastructure development; agriculture; mining and beneficiation; manufacturing; the green economy; and tourism.
Zuma presented a confident and relaxed, yet serious and sincere figure as he took listeners through the annual State of the Nation address. He arrived with wife MaKhumalo and Speaker Max Sisulu to a furious salute from a battery of army guns and, while Zuma didn’t deliver fireworks, there was enough steel in the Presidential message to satisfy most. Pundits, generally, have welcomed the speech and the manner in which it was delivered.
Now the talking and pomp and ceremony are over, government needs to buckle down on its promises to create more opportunities for its people and ensure a better standard of living for all. – Ridge Correspondent