Ramaphosa pledges R2 trillion for jobs

JOHANNESBURG - In his Freedom Day address, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced intentions to raise R2 trillion through investment into South Africa – specifically to combat the country’s high unemployment rate.

With the presidency selecting the North West town of Klerksdorp for its annual Freedom Day address, Ramaphosa was commemorating the 29th anniversary of South Africa’s (SA) democracy.

The commemoration of Freedom Day comes ahead of the 2024 national elections, which will mark the seventh all-inclusive national elections in the new South Africa.

“Freedom cannot be meaningful when more than 10 million South Africans are out of work,” Ramaphosa noted in his address at the Manzilpark Stadium, in Klerksdorp. “That is why we need to pursue the far-reaching reforms we are undertaking to make our economy more competitive, more inclusive, and more attractive to investors.”

The president continued by saying a target of raising R2 trillion over the next five years has been set. “It is because South Africans need jobs that we have raised our ambition in the next phase of our investment drive, to raise R2 trillion in new investment over the next five years.”

According to Stats SA, South Africa’s unemployment rate stands at 32.7 per cent, which – along with the crippling load shedding crisis – impact economic growth negatively. In February this year, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook projected that South Africa will have the highest unemployment rate globally in 2023, estimated at 35.6 per cent.