State of the Nation Address 2024

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State of the Nation Address 2024

Leave No One Behind Leave No One Behind
Jobs
SONA 2018 Commitments and Achievements

We are committed to delivering on the promises made in the 2018 State of the Nation Address. There is still much work to be done, but we have made important progress. Last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to prioritise job creation to address the critical unemployment levels in our country. On Day 232 post-SONA, we took a crucial step towards that goal.

We are going to embark on a number of measures to address the unemployment challenge. One of the initiatives will be to convene a Jobs Summit within the next few months to align the efforts of every sector and every stakeholder behind the imperative of job creation. The summit will look at what we need to do to ensure our economy grows and becomes more productive, that companies invest on a far greater scale, that workers are better equipped, and that our economic infrastructure is expanded.

Day 232

Presidential Jobs Summit agrees on a set of measures expected to lead to the creation of 275,000 jobs a year.

The Presidential Jobs Summit, held in October of last year, was an important milestone set by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his 2018 State of the Nation Address to ease the serious unemployment challenge facing the country. It delivered a landmark Framework Agreement of high-impact actions to drive job creation, job retention and economic growth.

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President Ramaphosa addresses the Jobs Summit. Credit: GovernmentZA/Flickr

This Presidential Jobs Summit is just the start of a process of engagement and collaboration that will intensify in the coming months. This Jobs Summit is not a once-off event, but the first phase of an extensive process in which all social partners will work closely together to improve growth, protect existing jobs and create new jobs. - President Cyril Ramaphosa

During the closing remarks President Cyril Ramaphosa said a target of 275,000 jobs can be created a year, based on interventions discussed during the summit.

The Framework Agreement included a range of practical actions: - Investment of R100 billion (over five years) in black enterprises and firms in the industrial sector -  R1,5 billion for a new Smallholder Support Fund and R1,5bn for the Township Enterprise Fund - Up-scaling the implementation of the 30% set aside of government spend for SMMEs and co-operatives - ‘Bizniz in a Box’ Youth Empowerment Programme to equip young people with entrepreneurial skills and actual business opportunities - And many more

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