President Cyril Ramaphosa was on an electioneering campaign in Atteridgeville, Tshwane this morning where he admitted that joblessness in the community is a genuine concern among the unemployed residents.
He started a door-to-door campaign at ward 63 Saulridge high school, moved to Nkomo Village mall interacting with the shoppers, and move to public meeting at Mbolekwa sports ground where he meet ANC supporters and community members.
“We did a door to door visit this morning and in almost each and every household concerned parents told us about their children who are not employed,” he said.
Ramaphosa explained that the issue of joblessness can be tackled through skills training programmes that include plumbing, electricity, welding and related jobs that require hand skills.
Ramaphosa also pointed out that the Nasispani programme spearheaded by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi is also one of the means that the ANC is using to create jobs.
He also said that another way of creating jobs was to give support to small businesses in the townships.
“And when we talk about job creation initiatives, we are not only concentrating on those who are between the ages of 18 and 35 years, but we also include those who are above these age groups,” he said.
He said the government will work hand-in-hand with the private sector in order to create jobs.
“More and more Extended Public Works Programme ( EPWP) jobs will be created, and the country has just celebrated 20 years of the programme’s existence,” he said.
He revealed that many beneficiaries of the EPWP initiative are happy because through the programme they have managed to get skills, experience and marketability in various fields of occupation which they can use in the job market.
“There are opposition parties dressed in green, some red and others in blue T-shirts who go around promising people that they can create jobs for every household in the country and I am saying to you those opposition parties are lying and dreaming,” he said sarcastically.
“The fact of the matter is that South Africa has 18 million households, and it is therefore impossible to create that huge number of jobs,” he said.
Ramaphosa said it is only the ANC which has experience in creating jobs, this as it has created 8 million jobs since taking over the government in 1994.
Continuing in his sarcastic mold, Ramaphosa said some parties, which are controlled by one leader, are nothing but Mickey Mouse entities which must not be taken seriously.
Addressing the issue of lack of housing, Ramaphosa said: “No country or government on the African continent builds free houses for its citizens; it is only the ANC government which does so and up to now we have built 4,7 million houses and gave them to our people for free,” he said.
He expressed gratitude that some people, who understand the government’s challenge in building free houses for everyone, have indicated that they want to build their own houses at their own expenses, and that all that they wanted from the government were serviced stands.
“The government will embark on this idea of serviced stands by providing roads, water and electricity to occupants of such stands,” said Ramaphosa.
He said this move will then allow the government to concentrate on building free houses only for the indigent, the old and the infirm.
Regarding the much-debated issue of the National Health Insurance (NHI), the president said it would definitely be implemented.
“All forms of crime including construction mafia, extortion, illegal mining and drug peddling will be stamped out,” he said emphatically.
Now allaying fears that members of Zimbabwe’s ruling party Zanu-PF will be in the country on 29 May to help the ANC rig the elections, Ramaphosa said the following: “It is not only Zanu-PF which will be here, but organisations like the United Nations and other political parties all over the world will also be here, with the purpose of only observing and not interfering in our elections.”
One of the residents Stella Makola told Tshwane Talks that she is happy about the promises that Ramaphosa made, which entailed creation of jobs and provision of water and electricity.
Another resident, Maria Shabangu said: ” I have known Ramaphosa for a long time now as a member of the ANC and I trust him, because he has delivered on many things like giving R350 to the unemployed and providing feeding schemes at schools.”