The Democratic Alliance (DA) said Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s budget speech in the provincial legislature on 25 May failed to address job creation in the city.
The DA’s mayor-elect candidate, Herman Mashaba, said it was time for the incumbent mayor, Parks Tau, to acknowledge his failure to create jobs.
Mashaba said there were currently 869 000 jobless residents in the city, 66 000 of whom joined the unemployed ranks in the first quarter of this year.
“Unemployment is a scar on Tau’s record and his silence on the jobs crisis is unacceptable,” said Mashaba.
“Earlier this month, in his State of the City Address, he mentioned jobs once and failed to even mention the word unemployment.” He added that it was time Tau broke his silence and apologised to the hundreds of thousands of Joburg residents who lost jobs under his watch.
Mashaba pledged that if he was elected mayor on 3 August, he would make job creation the number one priority. “With jobs, people can buy their own homes and take the pressure of providing housing away from the State. With jobs, there will be more revenue to spend on the poor and to create more work opportunities.”
He said he was running for the mayoral position to create work opportunities for young people to make a better life for themselves, assist entrepreneurs to start businesses, cut wasteful expenditure and improve service delivery. “I will create thousands of jobs to restore the hope of those who have been left behind,” he concluded.
Details: Nkele Molapo 072 041 4842.
