Programme Director, MEC Mayathula Khoza,
The Minister of Public Works, Minister Thulas Nxesi,
The Deputy Minister of Public Enterprise, Bulelani Magwanishe,
Speaker of the Legislature, Hon Ntombi Mekgwe,
MECs here present,
Members of the Gauteng Legislature,
Acting Mayors of Joburg and Tshwane MMCs from all municipalities,
The Ward Councillor, Councillor Zitha and other Councillors here present,
Representatives of companies partnering with Tshepo 500 000,
Honoured guests,
Our friends from the media,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Today we gather here in Ivory Park as the Ambassadors of Hope. We are here to ignite hope among our youth. We are here to restore hope in our townships. We are here to inspire our youth to seize training and entrepreneurship opportunities that will be created through Tshepo 500 000 and EPWP. We are the carriers of Hope.
We meet here today to launch one of our flagship programmes as the Gauteng provincial government; the Gauteng Tshepo 500 000 programme.
This initiative is linked to other strategic initiatives of our programme for radical Transformation, Modernisation and Re-industrialisation (TMR) -revitalisation of the Township Economy and the regeneration and development of township infrastructure. Through the TMR initiatives, we will, over the next five years, change the face of Gauteng province.
Through Tshepo 500 000, we want to provide entrepreneurial skills, training and mentorship to 500 000 young people, unemployed graduates, women and people with disabilities. With the support of the private sector and big business, we can actually move to One Million by 2019. This we will do with a view to enhancing their ability to take advantage of the employment and other economic opportunities available in our province.
This programme, therefore, is about bringing hope to the most vulnerable sectors of our society. It is also about instilling in them a real sense that; tomorrow will be better than today and yesterday. It is our contributing in restoring their dignity and in giving them a meaningful purpose in life. Through this programme, we are making it possible for our young people, women and people with disability to take charge of their economic future.
We are enabling them to become major players and beneficiaries from the provincial economy. Indeed, we are providing them with an opportunity to dream big in the knowledge that their dreams can come true.
We are providing support to them; enabling them to become better people and thus contribute towards the upliftment of their communities. We are also giving them opportunities to innovate and help move the economy of our province forward.
Programme Director, the Gauteng Tshepo 500 000 programme is a major intervention we are making to mould a new breed of economic participants and leaders, who have the required skills and experience to take our economy to the next level. We note the important linkages between this programme and the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) Phase III, especially linkages relating to skills development for the creation of sustainable jobs and other economic opportunities.
Launched together with the EPWP 3 we aim to highlight the important linkages between the two programmes. EPWP signifies a milestone in the development of this innovative, world acclaimed programme that promotes dignified employment work whose user-value creation and maintenance of community assets and services, creates sustainable livelihoods, and community-driven development. We are also encouraged by the fact that we are beginning to improve the quality of the work performed and ensure that it is of a long duration and that it is paid not below the minimum wage.
As provincial government we will ensure that there is greater coordination across the departments to enforce targets set out for EPWP rollout. I also want to emphasise the importance of ensure that transparent in selection and enrolment of participant in this programme. Tshepo 500 000 one other hand provides a continuum in our approach to provide work opportunities and skills development.
It also aims to draw the corporate sector to contribute to youth education and empowerment. We take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank all those especially in the private sector who have embraced this programme and have partnered with us towards its success.
Tshepo 500 000 also provides a direct link with the game-changing strategy to revitalise and transform the township economy, particularly in promoting all forms of entrepreneurship for the youth. For example, corporate sector can provide supply-linkages support to township entrepreneurs participating in this programme.
By embarking on this programme, therefore, we are making a worthy and long-term investment in the future of our country and our province.
We are broadening and diversifying our skills and entrepreneurial base; all of which is critical in our ongoing endeavours to growth and develop our economy in a sustainable way. We view this initiative as one among many radical interventions we will be making in the next fifteen years as part of our ten-pillar programme to Transform, Modernise and Re-industrialise the Gauteng City Region.
Equally this programme is a direct response to deal with the scourge of unemployment facing particularly young people. This is the programme that aims to give hope to all the youth of the country, black and white. We are going to make ensure that all youth who deserve to participate in this programme are represented.
According to figures from StatsSA unemployment among young people is more than double that of adults. These numbers confirm the observation made in the National Development Plan that; “The sharpest end of the employment crisis is felt by South Africa’s youth. About two-thirds of all unemployed are below the age of 35.”
The NDP goes on further to assert that; “South Africa risks having 60 % of an entire generation of young people live life not having ever held a formal job. This time bomb is the single greatest risk to social stability in South Africa.”
Figures for Gauteng indicate that, for the period between 2008 to 2014 youth unemployment in Gauteng rose by 4% to around 37%. This, Programme Director, calls on us as various stakeholders to act boldly, decisively and with a sense of urgency to address youth unemployment. It places a responsibility on us to combine our efforts and our resources so that collectively our interventions can have maximum impact in the shortest time possible.
In addition to facilitating the creation of jobs for those vulnerable in our society, we must continue to create the necessary conditions for them to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities. By also placing emphasis on the development of entrepreneurial skills, the Tshepo 500 000 programme contributes directly to our strategic goal of intervening decisively in the economy in order to create space for the emergence of black entrepreneurs involved in manufacturing and productive activities and in in key sectors of the economy and including in the township economy.
It also contributes to our goal of promoting economic inclusion by ensuring that young people, women and people with disability play an active part in the economic mainstream. The programme we are launching today will contribute, in a significant way, towards on-going efforts to shake the foundations of the economic status quo in our province; a status quo of the marginalisation and exclusion of many young people, women and people with disability from opportunities to build for themselves sustainable livelihoods.
We know that some of you will be making pledges today. We applaud all you for walking this path with us! We trust that many others in the private sector will follow the good example you have set. We wish to reiterate that; initiatives such as these are a necessary investment in our shared and prosperous future. They are indeed a worthy investment in the future of our country and our province.
As the Gauteng provincial government we will continue to invest in creating employment and other economic opportunities for our young people, women and people with disability. As we do this we will forge strategic and mutually beneficial partnerships with civil society and the private sector. Our actions in this regard are inspired by the vision of the National Development Plan; a vision of a society where; “(Together as South Africans) ...we participate fully in efforts to liberate ourselves from conditions that hinder the flowering of our talents.”
As part of this effort all Gauteng provincial departments and agencies have identified and will be showcasing opportunities available to empower young people, women and people with disabilities. I encourage all of you to enquire about these opportunities and most importantly to take advantage of them.
As we roll out these opportunities we hope to build more partnerships especially with the private sector. Our goal is to ensure that by the year 2019, we would have created 500 000 new entrance into the provincial economy.
Programme Director this target is not only reachable but also it is possible that we can exceed it. The demands out there are massive. We cannot therefore be satisfied with doing only the bare minimum. We must continue to push the envelope. We must continue to massify our efforts!
Let us therefore redouble our efforts not only to meet this target but also to surpass it. I take this opportunity to thank all those who have made this launch possible.
Let us work together towards the overwhelming success of this important provincial initiative.
Thank you!
