The Democratic Alliance (DA) is seriously concerned that Mpumalanga’s population has grown by 640 000 in the last 9-years, yet according to the Labour Force Survey of Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), the Province keeps shedding jobs every year and unemployment increases.
The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey of Stats SA shows that Mpumalanga’s expanded unemployment rate increased from 43.9 in the last Quarter of 2019 to 46.4% at the end of Q4 2020, which was the third highest among the nine provinces. The Survey also indicated that our Province recorded net job losses of 96 382 in 2020 alone.
The Survey also indicates that Mpumalanga’s expanded unemployment rate was at 41.1% in 2018; 43% in 2019; 43.9% in the last quarter of 2019. It expanded to 46.4% in 2020/2021 because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
With dysfunctioning Parastatals like the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) and Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), the ever-growing population of Mpumalanga are facing a depressing and a bleak future in terms of job opportunities.
MEGA, MTPA and the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator (MER), were given the mandate of driving economic growth that creates decent employment and promote sustainable development through partnerships in the Province.
But MEGA has dismally failed in its mandate, while the Mpumalanga Provincial government are the ones who are making it hard and impossible for MTPA to create jobs through tourism.
Since its inception in 2010, MEGA had made no positive contribution to the economy of Mpumalanga. Instead, it continues to be used as a vehicle to channel taxpayer money to connected cadre, and ultimately, back into ANC coffers.
Bad ROADS are the deterrent factor that makes it impossible for MTPA to create jobs. For a few years now, the roads leading to prominent tourist destinations in our Province like Pilgrims Rest, Gods Window, the Bourke’s Luck Potholes, and the Kruger National Park – are ridden with potholes and are in a severely dilapidated condition. This has now become a deterrent for tourists wanting to visit our province.
In a bid to deal with the heavy blows which the tourism sector took during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the DA has called on MEC of Public Works, Roads and Transport, Mohita Latchminarain to prioritize and fix all the roads which lead to our tourist destinations as a way of job creation.
Addressing the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality is important as the situation on the ground is getting worse, forcing people to become desperate.
This lack of real growth is a clear indication of how Mpumalanga was governed for the past two decades. In-coherent policy positions as well as rampant corruption in the public sector have had devastating effects on the economy. Without sound and up-to-date infrastructure, businesses are unable to grow, prosper or create jobs.
Without the proper support to emerging farmers, SMMEs and Co-operatives, the fight to break the poverty cycle will remain mere lip service.
In essence, Mpumalanga is run by a government that is unresponsive to the needs of the citizens, uncaring towards the plight of the poor and playing deaf to the cries of the desperate.
A complete change in government is what is needed. A DA led government in Mpumalanga will create an environment conducive for job creation by stopping corruption within government departments and entities and by implementing policies which attracts investors.
The DA has demonstrated that it can create jobs. It is a fact that most of the jobs created in South Africa in past years came from the DA governed Western Cape.
The DA has a plan to create fair access to real, long-term jobs. We focus on:
- Introducing a Voluntary National Service – one year of income and skills development for school-leavers.
- Creating job centres throughout South Africa that provide information, advice and free internet to job-seekers.
- Growing small business opportunities through increased funding assistance and removing blockage and red-tape.
- Prosecuting and eliminating the practice of ‘sex for jobs’ and carpet interviews.
- Prosecuting and eliminating the practice of ‘cash for jobs’ and corruption in allocating jobs.
We will immediately disband MEGA, which has become little more than a looting pot, and replace it with a structured partnership between government and the private sector, with the aim that organised business structures will be the key to drive economic growth and job creation in our province.
The DA will also put all of our MTPA parks/tourism sites on concession. This move will remove the burden of having to maintain these tourist sites away from the books of MTPA, and allow MTPA to focus solely on Biodiversity Conservation and Tourism Marketing. This will further ensure that MTPA receives a steady stream of revenue from all the concession fees, which in turn can be used for conservation purposes.