LIMPOPO – According to MEC for Finance, Kgabo Mohoai, if government is honest with one another, one of the biggest challenges they are facing is misplaced skills, because graduates, employed by government need not only knowledge but also require the skills needed to perform tasks.

Gap between theory and practice persists

There is still a massive gap between theory and practice, and when it comes to practical skills, the gap is even bigger.

He said this on March 20 at Khoroni Hotel during the Black Management Forum (BMF) Thohoyandou’s post provincial dialogue.

The event was attended by academia including economists and senior lecturers in accounting. A panel of discussions on the current budget for economic development and job creation, took centre stage.

“The internship programme has not bridged the gap sufficiently, institutions of Higher Education need to adjust their curricula to address this gap in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous context,” said Mohoai.

He urged academia to maximise research that brings solutions to challenges communities faced, he said government remained firm on standards, while open to meaningful collaboration with institutions.

Budget will not fix everything

“I had the responsibility to table the provincial budget, so I understand what it contains and I understand what it asks of all of us.

“I know it has been well received, and that support is really appreciated. The budget is not a miracle. It will not fix everything at once.

“We have seen what happens when infrastructure is pushed beyond its limits. Roads and bridges that people depend on suddenly become unusable.

“Access to services is disrupted, daily lives are interrupted in ways that are not imaginable, but real. So, when we speak about infrastructure, we are not speaking in abstract terms.

“We are speaking about whether a child gets to school and learn, whether a patient reaches a clinic and receives treatment and whether a business can open its doors for goods and services to be supplied and rendered,” he said.

According to Mohoai, the budget delivers services through careful and deliberate priority choices.

It provides key basic services people depend on, it places infrastructure development as a priority because it matters most and it directs resources towards growing our economy.

“We cannot grow the economy without reliable infrastructure,” he added.

Unemployment decline is just the beginning

According to him, recent data from Statistics South Africa shows that unemployment in Limpopo is beginning to decline.

“That is a positive sign. It tells us that the combined efforts of government and business are starting to make a difference, and that progress is possible when we move with focus. But we must be honest. A decline does not mean the problem is solved.

“Too many people, especially young people, are still without work. So we must treat this as momentum, not a conclusion. It is a call for all of us to do more, to expand, to invest, and to work together so that this progress becomes real and lasting in the lives of our people,” he said.

Collaboration key to progress

Meanwhile, the newly elected Black Management Forum president, Mpho Motsei said the dialogue is an opportunity for all, not only to reflect on the provincial budget, but to critically engage on its impact, identify gaps, and collectively propose solutions that will advance the socio-economic conditions of the people.