RWCLM’s plan to beat unemployment

The Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) has encouraged the local youth to make use of the resources and opportunities at their disposal to become entrepreneurs.

The National Employers’ Association of South Africa (NEASA) remains concerned about the high unemployment rate in general but especially among young people, describing the current status quo as ‘worrisome’. Gerhard Papenfus, NEASA Chief Executive, is of the view that the current 55,2 per cent joblessness rate among the youth is simply unacceptable. He added that throughout the country, only one in three young people of working age is employed.

Speaking to the Herald, Sifiso Dikana, youth coordinator at the Executive Mayor’s Office said the municipality is following the footsteps of the Gauteng Provincial Government as part of the commemoration of the 43rd anniversary of Youth Day/ Month.

Dikana said the municipality has partnered with the national Department of Mineral Resources to present a Young Enterprise Seminar, in which young people would be given entrepreneurial skills and taught how to get funding to support them when getting their enterprises off the ground.

“We are responding to what President Cyril Ramaphosa said in the SONA, therefore we are driving young people towards becoming their own employers through these programmes,” Dikana said.

He added that through their partnership with local institutions, those who may not be academically inclined will be also included.

“They will embark on technical skills training for various fields such as plumbing, tiling and plastering, painting, carpentry, mechanics, fitting, welding etc. These are opportunities that we are trying to bring on board, so that those who do not have qualifications can get opportunities to positively turn their lives around.”

According to Dikana, there is a newly opened National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) – situated near the Randfontein Post Office – as part of the municipality’s response to other challenges the youth face.

Councillor Dumile Sithole, the newly appointed RWCLM Executive Mayor, said the municipality will not only encourage youth upliftment during the month of June, it will be continuous.

“Our approach is that every day, every week and every month should be about the youth, because if we are talking about youth, we also speak about gender, race and people who are disabled and we have the responsibility to offer opportunities to them. We want to create a window of opportunities for those who are a step ahead so that they can also be an inspiration to others,” Sithole said.

He also said people have to realise that it is not only government that is mandated to create jobs for the youth – the private sector can also play a big role in strengthening the economy.

“As the municipality or government we are simply playing that support role to ensure that we create an environment that is conducive for those investments,” Sithole added.