SoNA-in-Numbers - 2023

Employment

• One and a half million – new jobs created in our economy between the third quarters of 2021 and 2022.
• More than one million – people provided with work and livelihood opportunities by the Presidential Employment Stimulus.
• 50 000 – participants recruited by the Social Employment Fund in its next phase to work for the common good.
• 36 000 – opportunities to be created through non–profit and community–based organisations by the revitalised National Youth Service.
• 10 000 – the first cohort of unemployed young people appointed by the Department of Home Affairs to digitise more than 340 million paper–based civic records.
• More than 340 million – paper–based civic records to be digitised by the first cohort of 10 000 unemployed young people appointed by the Department of Home Affairs.
• More than three million – users registered on SAYouth.mobi, a zero–rated online platform for young South Africans to access opportunities for learning and earning.

Education and Training

• 80% – a pass rate achieved by matriculants in 2022.
• 76% – a pass rate achieved by matriculants in 2021.
• R800 million – money to be provided by the National Skills Fund in 2023 to develop skills in the digital and technology sector through an innovative model that links payment for training to employment outcomes.
• Over 10 000 – Technical and Vocational Education and Training college graduates placed in employment by government in 2022.
• 20 000 – Technical and Vocational Education and Training college graduates to be placed in employment in 2023.
• From 17 000 to 30 000 – number of students entering artisan training in Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges to be increased in the 2023 academic year.
• 150 000 – a new cohort of school assistants who started work at more than 22 000 schools in February 2023. 
• More than 22 000 – schools where a new cohort of school assistants started work in February 2023.
• One and a half million – children who receive the Early Childhood Development subsidy.
• 55% – bachelor passes in no–fee schools in 2019.
• 64% – improved bachelor passes in no–fee schools in 2022.
• 55 000 – appropriate toilets built by the Sanitation Appropriate for Education Initiative, together with government’s Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative, with resources from the public and private sectors.

Civil Unrest

• Over 300 – deaths caused by the worst public violence and destruction in the history of our democracy in July 2021.

Energy

• 4 000 to 6 000 – megawatts of electricity shortfall to be addressed.
• 80% – electricity produced by coal–fired power stations.
• R400 billion – Eskom’s debt burden.
• 300 – megawatts of excess power from private generators already secured from neighbouring countries.
• 43 – arrests made through intelligence–driven operations at Eskom–related sites.
• More than 100 – projects of private developers allowed to generate electricity.
• Over 9 000 – megawatts of new capacity expected to be provided over time by more than 100 projects of private developers allowed to generate electricity.
• 2 800 – megawatts of new capacity to be delivered by a number of companies that have participated in the renewable energy programme. 
• 6 – months within which Eskom can deploy emergency power.
• Over the next 12 to 18 months – period for a massive increase in power to the grid. 
• R1.5 trillion – money to be invested in the economy through the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan over the next five years in new frontiers such as renewable energy, green hydrogen and electric vehicles.
• Over R100 billion – value of investment in renewable energy projects attracted by the Northern Cape.

Infrastructure

• 13 – commuter rail lines reopened by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, significantly reducing the cost of travel for many workers.
• 90 – days of the reduced turnaround time for applications for water–use licences.
• R600 million – money allocated to Infrastructure South Africa for project preparation, specifically in rural and under–resourced areas.
• R232 billion – value of infrastructure projects under construction, by January 2023.
• Nearly R4 billion – value of completed infrastructure projects, by January 2023.
• R18 billion – value of South African National Roads Agency road construction contracts awarded over the last three months.
• 24 – bridges under construction in KwaZulu–Natal, by February 2023.

Investment and Economy

• R14 billion – new investment contributed to the fiscus by the completion of the spectrum auction.
• R1.2 trillion – value of new investment to be raised through a campaign embarked on nearly five years ago.
• R367 billion – investment commitments raised at the 4th South Africa Investment Conference in 2022.
• More than R2 trillion – value of a new 2028 target in new investment to be mobilised at the 5th South Africa Investment Conference in April 2023.
• Almost 1 000 – black industrialists participating in the Black Industrialist Programme.
• More than 400 000 – workers who own shares in the firms they work for.
• R1.4 billion – value of financing that government, through the Small Enterprise Finance Agency, plans to provide to over 90 000 entrepreneurs.
• Over 90 000 – entrepreneurs set to benefit from the R1.4 billion that government, through the Small Enterprise Finance Agency, plans to provide.
• R10 billion – value of the fund government plans to establish, in partnership with the SA SME Fund, to support small, medium and micro enterprises' growth.
• R2.5 billion – part of the R10 billion government plans to provide for the fund to be established, in partnership with the SA SME Fund, to support small, medium and micro enterprises' growth.
• R7.5 billion – part of the R10 billion to be raised from the private sector to provide for the fund government plans to establish, in partnership with the SA SME Fund, to support small, medium and micro enterprises' growth.

Agriculture and Land 

• Around 140 000 – small–scale farmers who received input vouchers to buy seeds, fertiliser and equipment, providing a boost for food security and agricultural reform.
• 640 000 – hectares of cultivated land of small–scale farmers.
• 68% – percentage of women among around 140 000 small–scale farmers who received input vouchers to buy seeds, fertiliser and equipment, providing a boost for food security and agricultural reform.
• 250 000 – more vouchers government aims to provide to small–scale farmers in 2023.

Social Security

• More than 25 million – people who receive some form of income support.    
• Around two million – indigent households receiving free basic water, free basic electricity and free solid waste removal.
• Around 60% – budget government spends on the social wage, providing various forms of support, basic services and assistance to households and individuals to combat poverty and hunger.
• Around 7.8 million – people who continue to receive the Social Relief of Distress Grant to counter the rising cost of living.

Housing

• Over one million – houses affected by the backlog in processing title deeds, which amounts to an estimated R242 billion in assets.
• R242 billion – estimated value of assets as a result of the backlog in processing title deeds of over one million houses.
• 4 000 – hectares of state land the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure will transfer for housing.

Safety and Security

• 12 000 – new police personnel government undertook to recruit in 2022.
• More than 10 000 – new recruits who graduated from police academies since 2022.
• 10 000 – further new recruits to be recruited and trained in 2023.
• 20 – identified hotspots in which Multi–disciplinary Economic Infrastructure Task Teams are now operational.

Women Empowerment

• At least 40% – public procurement to be directed to women–owned businesses.
• More than 3 400 – women–owned enterprises trained by government to prepare them to take up procurement opportunities.
• Approximately R9 billion – amount earmarked by the Industrial Development Corporation to invest in women–led businesses.

Fight Against Crime and Corruption

• 187 – accused persons taken to court by the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate in 32 state capture and corruption cases.
• 32 – state capture and corruption cases of 187 accused persons taken to court by the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate.
• Over R7 billion – money returned to the State from state capture cases.
• R12.9 billion – funds and assets frozen by February 2023.
• R27 billion – a potential saving that National Treasury estimates government could achieve in the medium term if it deals with overlapping mandates, close ineffective programmes and consolidate entities, where appropriate.

Local Government

• 163 – municipalities, out of 257, that are dysfunctional or in distress due to poor governance, ineffective and sometimes corrupt financial and administrative management and poor service delivery.
• 257 – municipalities, of which 163 are dysfunctional or in distress due to poor governance, ineffective and sometimes corrupt financial and administrative management and poor service delivery.

History

• 10 – years since we bid farewell to Nelson Mandela, the first President of a democratic South Africa, by 2023.
• 105 – years since the birth of Nelson Mandela, by 2023.