Unemployment a ticking bomb

TODAY the whole nation is anxiously waiting for President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation address.

What makes this address different is that it comes at a time when the government has just unveiled its New Economic Growth Path.

The plan charts the route the government plans to take to address the high level of unemployment and growing income inequalities between the rich and poor.

Speaking during the ANC's 99th anniversary celebrations in Polokwane last month, Zuma said the plan arose from the ANC's commitment to address the problem of unemployment through practical measures.

He went on to say that history had shown that economic growth did not necessarily translate into job creation. With this in mind, Zuma then declared 2011 "the year of job creation".

What also makes today's address special is that it happens at a time when Africa is facing major political upheavals in countries such as Tunisia and Egypt.

Broadly the uprisings have been explained as a call to leaders who do not want to relinquish power that it is the people who will eventually decide who should govern them.

Events in north Africa have been described as a warning to all other dictators that their time is nigh.

Of importance to us and Zuma is that the uprisings were led mainly by young people.

Describing the situation in his country, a Tunisian youth wrote: "We want to believe that all is well since we are part of the middle class, but we know that if the cafés are packed during the day it is because the unemployed are discussing football."

These words could have been spoken by a South African youth describing the situation in this country, where unemployment among those between the ages of 15 and 24 is estimated at 41 percent.

The difference is, it can be argued, that South Africa is more democratic than Tunisia and Egypt.

But political freedom and the holding of free and fair elections every five years cannot be eternally used to salve the pain of facing a bleak future in a country where there are islands of wealth in a sea of poverty.

Such high levels of unemployment among the youth is indeed (as former labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana once said) a "ticking time bomb".

Compounding the situation is that in this country we have a culture that enables only the politically connected to enjoy the few opportunities that exist to be employed and accumulate wealth.

The protesters in Tunisia and Egypt not only talked about a lack of political freedom and unemployment, they also talked about corruption, a scourge that has proved to be the government's soft underbelly when it comes to black economic empowerment and procurement in the public sector.

Various stakeholders, including labour, civil society and business, have indicated what they expect Zuma to say to address the problems facing the country.

Black Sash's Nkosikhulule Nyembezi said: "Zuma's own National Planning Commission had revealed that the richest 20 percent of South Africans received 70 percent of total national income; and that living standards in the country were unacceptably low, with 49 percent of the population living on less than R524 a month."

Cosatu, on the other hand, has called on Zuma to spell out the policies he will adopt to achieve his target of creating five million jobs and bringing unemployment down to 15 percent by 2020.

ANC general secretary Gwede Mantashe told the media on Tuesday that jobs "would feature strongly" in Zuma's speech.

During his address at the ANC 99th anniversary celebrations in Polokwane Zuma also said: "We still have unacceptably high levels of poverty and inequalities. We have a crisis of high unemployment in our country.

"It is only by enabling our people to free themselves from poverty, by providing sustainable decent jobs and opportunities to become entrepreneurs that we will really bring about a better life for all."

Tonight he has the opportunity to tell the nation how his government is going to turn these words into reality.

It is now time to stand and deliver, Mr President.