Protea Glen youth stranded by Lockdown regulations
In a statement released by the Department of Employment and Labour on June 23, the Employment and Labour Minister Thulani Nxesi expressed concerns over the released stats SA first quarter Labour force survey by the statistician general, showing that the rate of unemployment has gone up to 30.1%.
The Presidentially declared lockdown may be on its third level, however, the youth and the people from Soweto, in Protea to be specific cannot wait to start moving around freely again and earning.
Even though many people complain about the negative effects of the lockdown caused by a global pandemic, COVID-19. Some people still see the positives it may have brought, like Kgomotso Thage who spoke about the reality of how the current situation in the country has forced each and every individual to realize their worth. President Cyril Ramaphosa even offered unemployed young and old persons R350 special COVID-19 Social Relief Grants as a means for them to survive during the lockdown, because a majority is not working.
In a statement released by the Department of Employment and Labour on June 23, the Employment and Labour Minister Thulani Nxesi expressed concerns over the released stats SA first quarter Labour force survey by the statistician general, showing that the rate of unemployment has gone up to 30.1%.
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In the statement, Nxesi spoke about the pain experienced by many individual workers and their families and communities represented by the statistics.
Some people were not working at all already, when the lockdown was declared, like Frederick Maluleke from Protea who said, “Level three has been the same as level five and four for people like myself because we still cannot travel to go and visit our relatives and friends whom help make life bearable during the times we’re unemployed.”
Maluleke said that the lockdown situation has horribly affected his money rotation.
Gcina Khumalo on the other hand agreed about the horrible position the lockdown has placed on many young people like himself in, he said, “It’s a bad situation.”
Gcina said that this is the time the black youth realizes that self Employment is an important key in opening up better and sustainable lives for themselves.
Tshego Lehutso said that he hopes that employment opportunities will be created by the government after this pandemic has passed because the only way to sustain everyone’s livelihood is if everyone is at least working and has a relationship with money.
Thage has a confectionery business and sells cakes and biscuits in the Central Business District (CBD) of Johannesburg as a street vendor, he said, “I couldn’t even go and make business as usual because of this pandemic, but I always hope for the best.”
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