Big business can help create job opportunities
THERE has been rising unemployment at all levels, and the question is, what to do?
Recently, there was a debate about whose job is job creation. Is it the job of the private sector or government to create jobs? In my view, this is not a relevant question for now. Rather we should be asking what we are doing to ensure that job opportunities are available to all.
I don’t think we need a laundry list of ideas, but we can make small incremental investments necessary for the economy to grow and create meaningful jobs. It takes me to the following point regarding the shortage of glass bottles, especially for the liquor industry.
I find myself asking myself the following: Is big business doing enough to ensure that they deploy their investment capital to expand their operations, which will create a market for their products and help employ several job seekers? Take, for example, the South African breweries halting their investment in the glass sector.
Was it the right decision by the company? It is becoming clear that the decision was premature. As it stands now, the company is feeling the impact of not being able to control its production because of inadequate raw materials or a lack of glass products in the market.
If there was a time when a backward integration strategy was essential, it is now. We can see the industry is struggling because it does not have complete control of its value chain.
The impact of no investment in the glass sector has resulted in the non-availability of products by beer producers or distributors. There is also a downstream impact, and the government will be happy for increased revenue from any other source.
There is the jobs impact: this sector will experience severe repercussions if no investment comes through to ensure that all these companies operate at optimal levels. This will mean some employees will be lost to the sector or have to accept reduced hours to cater to this production misalignment.
I would think the major industries in the liquor trade can combine their combined resources to enable the glass industry to increase its glass production exponentially. This will result in job opportunities being created. NYANISO QWESHA