• EC needs urgent plan to turn fortunes around

Creating jobs, particularly for Eastern Cape youth, will be a key priority for the Oscar Mabuyane-led administration, he promised on Tuesday in his second state of the province address (Sopa). As with his maiden speech, he outlined his plans to unlock development and stimulate the Eastern Cape’s economy. Reducing joblessness will be a monumental task, especially with our slow economic growth. SA’s unemployment rate stood at 29.1% in the fourth quarter of 2019 and in the Eastern Cape at 39.5%, according to Stats SA. For the youth, the situation is worse: in the age group 15 to 34, just over 40% were not in employment, education or training.

Mabuyane has outlined several initiatives he believes can lift the province out of the doldrums and boost job creation.

They include 14 new factories in the East London IDZ that will see 1,600 people, particularly youth, being permanently employed by the end of the 2020/2021 financial year. The construction of these factories have already created 2,000 jobs, he said, with the number said to grow to at least 3,000 by March 2021.

Turning his attention to unlocking the oceans economy, Mabuyane announced that his executive approved a master plan that would see more than R10bn being injected into the provincial economy to create about 33,000 jobs after the first five years.

Programmes aimed at youth development will be a key objective. A special directorate has been set up within the office of the premier to prioritise youth programmes and provide support in terms of business and skills training for graduates and unemployed youth.

Small, micro and medium enterprises are crucial in the fight against unemployment. While scant on detail, Mabuyane admitted “red tape” was a hindrance and promised to fast-track the allocation of funds to “deserving businesses”.

However, it will be important not to simply throw money at small businesses without skills training and other support to ensure they have a sustainable business model.

It remains to be seen what will come of Mabuyane’s commitments but one thing is certain: the province is in urgent need of a plan to turn its fortunes around.

It will be important not to throw money at small businesses without training and other support