‘Many millions of people remain locked out of the labour market. In substance, there has been little change to the status quo.’ – David Ansara, CEO of the Free Market Foundation
While many commentators have been quick to celebrate the 0.3% quarter-on-quarter reduction in Statistics South Africa’s official unemployment rate, there is no real reason to celebrate as far too many remain excluded from the economy.
South Africa’s ongoing joblessness crisis has two causes.
The first is the government’s overbearing labour regulatory framework, which deters employers from taking a risk on new hires. Trade unionists have successfully lobbied within the Tripartite Alliance to protect their unionised jobs at the expense of the poor, who desperately need new work opportunities.
”The FMF has long championed job-seekers’ exemption certificates (JSECs) to allow the unemployed to exempt themselves from the laws and regulations that keep them in a permanent state of joblessness”, said David Ansara.
The second cause is chronic low economic growth and a lack of competitiveness. Jobs are the byproduct of economic activity. If South Africa wants more jobs, it needs to make it worthwhile for investors to commit much-needed capital to this market and make it easier to do business here.
“To encourage new investment, the government must abandon hostile policies like Expropriation Without Compensation (EWC), National Health Insurance (NHI) and race-based Employment Equity laws. Withdrawing these policies will be far more effective than any make-work scheme devised by the government,” said Ansara.
Ends.
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