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Mpumalanga province prioritises job creation, govt skills audit

Mpumalanga province prioritises job creation, govt skills audit

Photo by Bloomberg

25th February 2020

By: Yvonne Silaule

Contributor

     

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Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni on Tuesday said the province was committed to undertaking a skills audit of the provincial government, as well as municipalities within the province.

"This is an effort to professionalise these spheres of government. We are still committed to ensuring that public servants are capacitated to carry out their tasks so as to enable us to give effect to the Constitutional mandate," she said in her State of the Province Address at the Mpumalanga legislature.

She also stated Mpumalanga was committed to developmental imperatives that drive innovation and the digital revolution.

“The mission is to increase levels of investment in the Mpumalanga economy, accelerate the provision of our infrastructure to support the economy and create much-needed jobs. Such imperatives should also transform and diversify all sectors of the economy, consolidate support for small businesses and cooperatives, as well as grow the township and village economy.

“It should also translate into improved basic services, better education, make our people live healthier and longer lives, provide shelter over their heads, provide social security and promote social cohesion," the Premier said.

Mtshweni stressed the importance of dealing with the "unacceptably high" level of unemployment, particularly among the youth.

“Mpumalanga’s unemployment rate was the third highest among the nine provinces in the fourth quarter of 2019, at 33.6%, and our commitment is to explore new ways to stimulate our economy and create work opportunities to decrease this staggering percentage.

“As we do this, it is important to also take cognisance of the fact that we anticipate more job losses in the mining sector, which is one of the biggest contributors to the provincial economy. These job losses will be attributable to mines reaching the end of their operational lifespan,” Mtshweni pointed out.

The Premier pronounced that in order to mitigate the socioeconomic consequences of the closure of mines, the provincial government would actively engage mining houses to ensure they comply with the legislated requirement to establish a rehabilitation fund to restore the land when mining operations cease.

“This will enable us to repurpose the use of land from mining to agriculture and by so doing create employment opportunities for our people. This will also end the rapid deterioration of former mining towns across the province,” she stated.

Further, Mtshweni mentioned short-term interventions by the provincial government to stimulate economic participation and ultimately create jobs.

“We have taken a firm decision to embark on creating more jobs [in partnership] with the private sector. This will [increase] the number of youth who are put on short-term skills development courses like plumbing, painting, electrical, bricklaying, plastering, hospitality and others initially targeting those who may have left school between Grades 8 and 12."

She said these young people would then be deployed to hospitals, clinics, schools and all government buildings to do maintenance and necessary repairs.

“We are targeting at least 50 000 young people to be skilled by government and the private sector during the next three years. Our strategic partners in the private sector have indicated that they will upskill young people in areas related to their operations.

“To this effect, R10-million has been set aside in the 2019/20 budget adjustment. A further R40-million will be apportioned in the 2020/21 financial year in continuation of this initiative,” Mtshweni said.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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