Ramaphosa leads jobs drive

Executive salary sacrifices, forgoing dividends explored in bid to retain jobs

CORRUPTION within all spheres of the government has been one of the biggest contributors to joblessness and has led to investors increasingly losing confidence in the country over the years.

This according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was delivering a keynote address at the presidential Jobs Summit in Johannesburg, organised under the auspices of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).

The summit is aimed at aligning efforts of business, labour and government behind initiatives to create jobs and seek ways of improving the country’s stagnant growth.

While emphasising that it was every social partner’s responsibility to ensure unemployment was addressed, Ramaphosa said the government acknowledged its role in the problem.

“One of the greatest barriers to investment and growth and to job creation has been corruption within all spheres of government, state owned enterprises and companies. We are determined to intensify the work we have already started to end state capture and to root out corruption,” Ramaphosa said.

Earlier this year during his State of the Nation Address, Ramaphosa announced that he would organise the summit through Nedlac, and social partners have been crafting a framework, which he presented yesterday.

Ramaphosa said some of the agreements reached in the framework agreement included to do all possible to avoid retrenchments.

“We have agreed that in the current economic environment the jobs summit must focus on both creating new jobs and retaining existing jobs..

“Needs to be explored before retrenchment is considered include executive salary sacrifices and the forgoing of dividends,” he said.

Economic interventions include the strengthening and expansion of local procurement by both government and business to strengthen the economy and assist job retentions, and the adoption of a more aggressive approach to increase exports.

On small and medium enterprises, the interventions include the enhancement of access and co-ordination of SMME support and the effective implementation of the 30% of government spend set aside for them, among others.

Ramaphosa said all social partners had been engaged in intensive discussions to find and to craft an agreement to begin to address this jobs crisis since his announcement.

He said the framework provided the outline of the emerging social compact to grow an inclusive economy.

The summit will commence today where the framework will be discussed, with each social partner making its own commitments. |