Premier Panyaza Lesufi says his jobs initiative for young people - Nasi iSpani - has created over 90,000 employment opportunities in just 12 months.
Lesufi was speaking during the current administration's final State of the Province Address for Gauteng in Nasrec on Monday night.
He said the much criticised jobs initiative had employed prospective solar technicians known as the green army, crime prevention wardens,known as “AmaPanyaza”, early child development practitioners and building inspectors.
“The provincial government that I have the honour to lead can confidently assert, that close to 90,000 young people, the same number it takes to fill FNB Stadium, are no longer unemployed, hopeless, and without the ability to contribute to their families,” he said.
He said that indicated the impact of the Nasi iSpani job opportunities and the number of families they continued to touch daily.
Since its inception, the Nasi iSpani programme, which is derived from informal township Zulu with the loose translation of “here's the job”, has been used to fight community crime with AmaPanyaza, solar installations with the green army and other roles within Gauteng.
These were to address the occupational shortage, clean, provide safety, and improve the economy of the province.
Recently, Lesufi reappointed 32,000 young people whose contracts under the education assistants programme had ended. They had their contracts extended for a further six months.
He said the national government would intervene after the period.
During his address, Lesufi said they are taking the recruitment programme “to the next level”.
In partnership with the National Departments of Higher Education (DHET) and Employment and Labour (DEL), he said they would “massify” the employment opportunities and target skills development and training.
“We are targeting 40,000 young people on the Nasi Ispani database to take advantage of the 333 opportunities in the labour activation programmes to be launched in April 2024 by the Department of Employment and Labour,” he said.
In addition, he said they will ensure that they receive the requisite skills transfer and training from TVET colleges working with the Departments of Higher Education (DHET).
kamogelo.moichela@inl.co.za
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