JOHANNESBURG, S. Africa: June 20 (Xinhua) — South Africa’s richest province Gauteng on Wednesday launched the Township Enterprise Hubs (TEH) initiative designed to address youth unemployment.
Speaking at the launch attended by around 1,000 young people in Pretoria, Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said the initiative is one of the provincial projects that seek to reduce youth unemployment.
“We recognize that youth unemployment is a serious concern for us in Gauteng. While these efforts may seem a drop in the ocean, we are positive that we will make a dent in youth joblessness by working together with all stakeholders. After all, unemployment is everyone’s problem,” Mokonyane said.
South Africa’s unemployment rate currently stands at 25.2 percent, of which a majority of the figure represents unemployed youth. According to Mokonyane, the TEHs are business incubators in six poverty-stricken zones in the Gauteng province. The Hubs will take the form of three different clusters which are Automotive Hub, Enterprise Hub and Industrial Hub.
“The TEHs complement other initiatives by the province as we intensify our fight against joblessness among young people,” the premier said. “These hubs will primarily target the unemployed youth through cooperatives, entrepreneurs, and SMEs (small and medium enterprises),” she added.
The interventions include programs such as the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme (Y-Age) which was launched in October last year and the National Youth Service. To assist the youth to apply for jobs in government, the province has also launched the Professional Job Centre.
According to Mokonyane, this facility brings government recruitment closer to where people are residing, and in a retail complex that is frequented by thousands on a monthly basis. Mokonyane described the TEHs as a program of the provincial government striving to provide a practical solution to unemployment among the youth in Gauteng.
Besides creating several national and provincial programs to deal with youth unemployment, the central government is calling on private and public sectors to partner with the government and political parties to address joblessness that stems economic growth.
Earlier this month, the central government launched the “Jobs Fair” initiative aimed at eroding unemployment in the country. (Xinhua)
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