It has become routine for South Africans to lament our ever-escalating unemployment rates quarterly. Last week Stats SA announced conservative unemployment figure of 35.3% for the fourth quarter of 2021, up from 34.9% in the previous quarter. We are no longer shocked.

Every quarter, Stats SA releases unemployment figures that confirm our painfully obvious reality of mass unemployment. Without skipping a beat, we bemoan the government's inaction and are at pains to point out the knock-on effect of unemployment such as frustration, crime, mental illness and social unrest. Soon, we move on to the next big headline: high murder rates, anti-immigrant riots, electricity blackouts or any of the social and political crises that are a permanent feature our democratic SA...