As the International Workers Day this week looms, the incoming government after the elections later this month should prioritise the indigenisation of the local economy to help deal with the problem of youth unemployment.
Indigenisation of the economy in the context of SA should be understood as transforming the proprietorship of the small, informal business sector to favour the South African natives who are mostly affected by the growing numbers of unemployment rates in the country.
One of the most strategic ways to create more employment opportunities is to encourage the unemployed youth to consider informal or small businesses which already provides income for thousands of self-employed people in SA.
According to the Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies, there were about 710,000 small businesses in the second half of 2022 while informal businesses numbered 1.7-million in the last quarter of 2022.
There is a strong consensus among the business community and government that small, medium & micro enterprises (SMMEs) account for at least 80% of job creation. The government has been paying more lip service to supporting small businesses than actually doing activating the support to reduce skyrocketing figures of unemployment. More than 7.8-million people working age people can’t find a job.
KENNETH MOKGATLHE | Indigenise local economy to fight youth unemployment
As the International Workers Day this week looms, the incoming government after the elections later this month should prioritise the indigenisation of the local economy to help deal with the problem of youth unemployment.
Indigenisation of the economy in the context of SA should be understood as transforming the proprietorship of the small, informal business sector to favour the South African natives who are mostly affected by the growing numbers of unemployment rates in the country.
One of the most strategic ways to create more employment opportunities is to encourage the unemployed youth to consider informal or small businesses which already provides income for thousands of self-employed people in SA.
According to the Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies, there were about 710,000 small businesses in the second half of 2022 while informal businesses numbered 1.7-million in the last quarter of 2022.
There is a strong consensus among the business community and government that small, medium & micro enterprises (SMMEs) account for at least 80% of job creation. The government has been paying more lip service to supporting small businesses than actually doing activating the support to reduce skyrocketing figures of unemployment. More than 7.8-million people working age people can’t find a job.
The ANC and other political parties should stop misleading the public by claiming that they would create job opportunities. One doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to understand that the government does not create jobs but forge an environment that could lead to job creation, mainly through attracting beneficial investments. The government wastes its money on short and unsustainable jobs such as the Expanded Public Works Programme, Presidential Youth Employment Initiative and many others that are not working.
People should be encouraged and supported to start businesses which will contribute to the mainstream economy.
There is a misleading argument that black South Africans cannot manage their businesses. That's not the truth; many “owners” of the spaza shops were successful in their small business from the 1970s to 1990s.
That was during the apartheid era, whose government was able to regulate the business sector to make it work for the people. The ANC-led government cannot even punish the current legion of foreign spaza shop operators for selling expired food items to the vulnerable masses. This would not have been possible during the days of the health inspectors of the past government.
Having the local people presiding over their economy will give them pride in their own country. They will become active players in the mainstream economy rather than look up to social grants.
The government needs to strengthen its regulatory framework, especially in the spaza shops in the townships and villages, to ensure that all those who are operating are complying with all requirements. South African Revenue Service, home affairs, police service, local municipalities and the department of employment and labour need to play their role.
The government should train, support, and monitor young people to run and manage small, informal businesses to mitigate skyrocketing unemployment.
This sector is important as it can increase employment figures in the country to employ more young people and drastically grow our economy. Throwing social grants at able-bodied people is anti-progress; it points to a government that hates its people as it wants people to be dependent on it so that they think independently for themselves.