Recently, Statistics South Africa released a report on the state of unemployment in the country. The revelation was that unemployment has reached 29 per cent, the highest rate since 2003. President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised to release a recovery plan on jobs soon.
The democratic government has no grand plan to curb high unemployment; it never had. What this means is that the rate of unemployment will increase further going forward. On the other hand, the rhetoric to create more jobs will grow louder.
The truth is that things are not looking up job-wise. Companies are retrenching left, right and centre. Standard Bank and Absa are typical examples. The government is also considering cutting jobs, saying the wage bill is too high, though it is treading carefully.
Contributory factors to high unemployment vary. The well-known one is the fourth industrial revolution. The 4IR has radically changed the way companies work and operate. Were companies ready and prepared for this change and innovation? It doesn’t look like they were, judging by the rate of retrenchments.
What are the effects of high unemployment? More people depending on government; less people working and less tax collected. There will be less money in the kitty for government to deliver on its noble promises as well. The economy will be adversely affected as well.
The other effect is that demonstrations are also going to take place.
Citizens will stand up and call upon the government to create jobs to curb high unemployment. If the government fails to do so, demonstrations may escalate and become violent.
When a challenge such as unemployment confronts a country, it creates an opportunity for would-be entrepreneurs to start their own businesses.
Citizens need to come to the party and create their own jobs. Fighting the government won’t help solve the high unemployment in our country.
