Stacey Garson
“THE MAJOR PROBLEM OF UNEMPLOYMENT”
Unemployment is one of South Africa’s biggest problems at the moment. Today, the number of unemployed people out number the amount of employed people in the non-agricultural formal sector by nearly 1-million. South Africa is losing the battle against unemployment and poverty. With the latest statistics SA Data shows that unemployment has increased significantly and just keeps rising. Unemployment, which is already a huge problem on its own, is a cause of many large and growing problems like shortages of nurses and doctors, crime and poverty. South Africa as a whole is crying out for a solution to this problem.
The UN report conducted in 2000 found that unemployment had reached up to 93% in some districts. This is due to large amounts of retrenchments in the mining sector, a lack of infrastructure development, no significant industry and no commercial or even vegetable or grain forming for household consumption. According to Statistics South Africa, 35% of workers earned less than R1000 a month in 1995 and by 2001 the figures have risen to 39% and R1000 was worth more in 1885 than in 2001. A major cause or a factor, which may have affected the rate of unemployment, is apartheid. You may say that apartheid is something of our past, but it is affecting our future. South Africa as a country ahs inherited some of the worst inequalities in the world from apartheid. Although South Africa is the richest country inAfrica by far, most people live with poverty and hunger. According to UN Development Data, South Africa ranks in the top 30 of 123 countries for productivity but are about the 70th worst in terms of malnutrition, which is also caused by unemployment.
Colleges, technicons and universities play a large part in decreasing unemployment. Currently, the education schools offer provides matriculants with few skills that can be used effectively. The end result is that there are large amounts of school leavers who go tout and seek jobs but they are not properly equipped and qualified for the job vacancies that exist. Further studying on the other hand provides students with the opportunity to study in any direction to gain the skills needed in the work place. Although education with regards to colleges and technicons ahs such a great advantage it has an even bigger disadvantage, the payment of further studies. If they poor are required to pay tax which they do not have money for, where are they suppose to get money from to pay for their children’s education. I think that education should be provided to everyone rich or poor. This is the only way that everyone can be thought the basics in order to be able to go and search for jobs or so they can qualify for bursaries, study further and open their own businesses.
The media tries to help with increasing employment by advertising posts and also promoting ideas of opening businesses. This helps yes, but not enough because the posts advertised are only for people with qualifications. Newspapers and some magazines have many articles about job opportunities and also competitions where bursaries can be won are advertised. The problem is that companies, which are using the media as a form of advertising, run most of the competitions. The media should recruit pupils at schools because many of them have useful skills. They should start going into rural areas and donating money to the children there instead of giving so much money away as well as cars with competitions. The money used can be made more useful.
Business industries are at the moment coming up with new ideas and starting agencies in order to help with employing people. However, South Africa’s manufacturing sector had been shedding jobs at a rate of more than 3 percent a year. Retrenchment, a major cause of unemployment is increasingly high and something has to be done.
An employment industry has recently been stared in order to provide flexible labour for small, medium and macro enterprises. This agency is building up contracts with different business firms in an effort to place unemployment at lower percentages by placing unemployed people into any vacancies that become available. This is good but there are not enough of these agencies and the jobs are once again only given to people who have finished school or have degrees. More businesses should sponsor such agencies and they could even start education systems for adults who never could study. Businesses should also help people who would like to open a similar business by contributing giving advice and assistance and by supporting the small and growing businesses.
Government has a huge responsibility towards the confrontation of unemployment. At the moment job creation should be a greater priority for the government than providing government services.
At present, the governments privatization plans are aggravating both unemployment and poverty. The privatization and commercialism of basic services will only make matters worse, like the privatization of Telkom, because the poor cant pay for the services and because they can’t pay for services they will not be served.
The presidential summit that was a response to a call made by our former President Nelson Mandela, brought together representatives of government, business, labour and other community development organization. The trust managed to assess 2000 people, create 100 entrepreneurs and established 1500 schools in all nine provinces. I think the government should stop privatization of businesses and spend more money on providing educational facilities and getting properly educated teachers for adults or anyone who doesn’t get on education. Government also needs to persevere in maintaining political stability and to ensure sustainable growth by improving governance and by providing an effective solution to unemployment. Government should also give the unemployed a voice so they can speak out and tell government what they think.
