Zuma points to world economy for jobs failure

CAPE TOWN — President Jacob Zuma yesterday conceded that the slow global recovery from the financial crisis would mean that the target of creating 5-million jobs by 2020 would not be met. However, he said, the target had been revised in the National Development Plan to 11-million jobs by 2030.

Replying to a question from Democratic Alliance MP Michael de Villiers in Parliament, Mr Zuma said the promise of 5-million jobs did not mean that the government would create these jobs in the public sector, adding “we set targets as a guide to achieve certain objectives”.

Mr Zuma said it was important to have guidelines and to strive towards achieving them.

“It must, however, be noted that there are many external factors that affect businesses and their ability to grow employment that are outside the control of government. This has not happened thus far as the world economy has not fully recovered from the global financial crisis.

“As a result, the demand for South African products by our key trading partners is lower. Firms are not confident that if they invest in new factories they will be able to sell their products. Some industries have not been producing at sufficient levels because of industrial relations disputes,” Mr Zuma said.

But he also said the hints of economic recovery in the US and other trading partners were “signs of hope”.

Responding to supplementary questions, Mr Zuma said: “Since the adoption of the New Growth Path, employment has climbed by three-quarters of a million (750,000 jobs). Just under half of the new jobs have been generated in community and social services, largely in the public service — mostly as the result of increased employment of health workers, educators and police. Most of the remaining jobs were generated in business services.”

He said employment in the core productive sectors — mining, agriculture and manufacturing — also rose and “agricultural employment climbed by over 70,000 in this period, which was the largest expansion in this sector in four decades. Manufacturing saw an increase of 22,000 jobs, and mining 9,000.”

Last month, Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus stepped up her criticism of the government’s economic and labour policies in a tough speech at a labour law conference.

She elaborated on her forthright call in June for “decisive leadership” to tackle SA’s domestic challenges, which she then said had reached “crisis proportions”. Ms Marcus warned that growth of 2% would not create the jobs needed for the millions of unemployed in SA.