ActionSA is set to file an appeal after the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) allegedly denied the public access to the employment records of individuals hired through what is calls the “fatally flawed” Nasi Ispani initiative.
Nasi Ispani is an initiative that was launched by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi on June 16, Youth Day, to fight against the high rate of unemployment and poverty in the province.
On the day, 8,000 jobs were advertised and available but the provincial government received about 1.2 million applications.
Despite the number, Lesufi promised that his government would ensure that no one was left behind in the job recruitment scheme.
In July at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Lesufi handed over 50,000 employment offers to job applicants.
In November, thousands of Gauteng job-seekers received their appointment letters at the Rhema Bible Church in Randburg, Johannesburg.
However, ActionSA's provincial chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni, maintained that the initiative was a PR stunt and a campaign ahead of the 2024 general elections.
"We have maintained and reiterated consistently that the hiring scheme is a mere PR stunt led by Lesufi, to campaign and secure votes for the ANC through the abuse of state resources," he said in a statement.
He added that the provincial government and the ruling party to which Lesufi belonged, were abusing the scheme for nefarious political ends.
"The very same government that is leading this hiring scheme is responsible for the millions of people seeking jobs," he said.
According to Ngobeni, the province's youth unemployment level was at its highest at 63.9%.
He expressed his view that Lesufi should be transparent and disclose relevant information to the public about the process of recruitment.
"Lesufi should disclose relevant information, especially if they continue to assert that they have nothing to hide," he said.
ActionSA submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to probe out their "PR stunt" suspicions, however, Lesufi's office rejected the application.
Ngobeni said his party believed in promoting economic prosperity by providing innovative solutions that would promote and encourage the employment of many young people to get them off the streets and generate the necessary economic activity in South Africa.
He promised that when ActionSA takes power next year, he will ensure that the lives of South Africans will improve and years of economic damage caused by the ANC will be addressed in an ethical manner that is solely based on promoting economic growth.
kamogelo.moichela@inl.co.za
IOL Politics