POLITICAL ANALYSIS
NEWS ANALYSIS: Can ANC turn around poor track record on jobs?
Business and labour are questioning the governing party's jobs plans unveiled in its election manifesto
The ANC has consistently battled to implement its jobs promises made during election seasons, with scepticism from labour and business over its new promise of 275,000 jobs annually for the next five years. Ahead of the 2014 election, the ANC promised to create more than 250,000 jobs and 6-million job opportunities. Mere months after making this commitment, Statistics SA released employment data for the second quarter showing that unemployment reached its highest levels since 2008, at 25.5%. In the ensuing five years, the employment situation did not improve, but in fact worsened, despite the party’s electoral commitment. Jobs data released towards the end of 2018 showed that unemployment stood at 27.5%. At the weekend, the party made renewed promises on job creation. The data shows that despite the promises, job shedding far outpaced job creation. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s job summit in 2018 thrashed out the problem with business, labour and the government. But will the 80-page ag...
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