Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
17 May 2024 | 10:00 CAT
2 min read

On Tuesday, 14 May, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported a rise in the country’s unemployment rate to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2024, up from 32.1% in the previous quarter. This increase comes just weeks before the 29 May polls, with jobs emerging as a key issue in the 2024 elections, overshadowing previous concerns like gender-based violence and land expropriation.

The disappointing figures pose a challenge for the ruling party, which had hoped for more favourable employment data to present to voters.

Tahir Maepa, Secretary General of the Public Service and Commercial Union, stated that the soaring unemployment rate in the country is the result of multiple contributing factors.

“These numbers are worse than post-Covid-19 numbers, in the sense that people thought we would at least be getting out of the downstream we have been in for quite a while,” he said.

According to Maepa, the economy is stagnant, and the government is unable to invest in infrastructure development because it is “broke,” which he emphasised is not an exaggeration.

“If you have a state that borrows R1.2 Billion a day to service the current debt, if that is not a description of broke, I don’t know what is. The government cannot meet its own current obligation,” he said.

Notably, Stats SA reported that the unemployment rate rose in all provinces between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. Additionally, youth unemployment remains alarmingly high, with 59.7% of individuals aged 15 to 24 currently unemployed.

“Currently, it does not look like there are any realistic solutions, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any. If those who have the responsibility of making a difference are unable to do so, nothing is going to be done,” he said.

The job creation initiative in Gauteng is a “scam”, according to Maepa.

“There are no job creation initiatives in Gauteng. Premier Panyaza Lesufi went around and looked at what remains in his budget as a province, and this emanates from two areas: one, unfilled vacant positions and two, money that hasn’t been used for maintenance of the current infrastructure; he then red-circled that money and created all these jobs we are seeing. The problem with that is that it is done within the current budget, which is allocated for a number of areas in Gauteng,” he said.

Maepa questions where Panyaza Lesufi will find the funds to maintain the salary bill in the coming year. He points out that Lesufi’s government itself has acknowledged that the public service is bloated and that the waste bill is too high and unsustainable. Despite this, Lesufi increased it even further. Maepa argues that such actions cannot be limited to just one province, as other, poorer provinces face similar issues. He posed the question, what would happen if their Premiers took the same approach?

“We are digging a deeper hole for all of us in the country; we won’t be able to achieve the objectives of sustainability and maintain financial needs,” he said.

LISTEN to the full interview with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie and Tahir Maepa, Secretary General of the Public Service and Commercial Union, here.