We caught up with captains of industry, CEOs, News24 subscribers and a Grade 11 pupil on the sidelines of News24’s flagship summit on jobs to ask them what they wanted to see to beat back against unemployment in our series Off The Record.
It was a momentous first day at News24’s flagship summit, On The Record, with world-class minds assembled to discuss how South Africa can create 5 million jobs in 10 years.
We heard from panellists on the economy, on leadership, saw examples from China and Argentina, and President Cyril Ramaphosa opened the event with his welcome keynote.
Following each panel, we caught up with captains of industry, CEOs, News24 subscribers and even a Grade 11 pupil on the sidelines of the jobs summit in our Day 1 reaction wrap called Off The Record.
For them, these issues are not broad: they are specific to them and their needs. Here are some of their key suggestions to beat back against unemployment:
• Tony Leon – removing the “regulatory mountain”.
• Edward Kieswetter – building jobs for opportunities of the future, like AI.
• Trevor Manuel – fixing the broken political-administrative interface.
• Busi Mavuso – focusing on putting our economy over politics.
• Johann Kotze – in five years, a metric for success would be if we all trusted brand SA again and believed the tide is turning.
• Siyabulela Sandi – an attendee in the education space, wants a proper focus on maths.
• Bevan Booysen – a News24 subscriber and property manager, wants less red tape to hire more.
• Alex Schmidt – a Grade 11 pupil, wants a lack of experience not to hinder him.
The CEO of Agri SA, Johann Kotzé.
Tony Leon – Removing the ‘regulatory mountain’
Former DA leader Tony Leon believes the main issue is “almost simplistic”: making it easier for companies and businesses to employ people.
What I think is an elephant in the room is that we don’t really tackle a fundamental question: how many obstacles, how many hurdles, prevent you from employing people?
“I am the chair of a company that employs people, and I can attest to the regulatory mountain that you have to climb before you can give one person a job.
“There are many examples from around the world, and we shy away from them. I think an honest conversation should start with that.”
Trevor Manuel – Fix the ‘broken’ political-administrative interface
Graeme Raubenheimer, host of The Lead, spoke to SA Revenue Service (SARS) commissioner Edward Kieswetter and former finance minister Trevor Manuel in a special edition.
For Manuel, who spent 13 years managing the country’s Budget, the first port of call is to fix the “broken” interplay between the political and administrative space in government.
“We need to ensure that we fix the political administrative interface. It’s very broken at the moment. That’s what the Madlanga Commission is about. It’s broken and it has to be fixed.”
Then, he believes we need to sort out specifically what every government department does and how it functions.
“You can start with those that matter in the lives of people. So, start with police, start with education, focus on upgrading the skills of teachers, for instance, because that [has a future impact].”
Listen to the special episode of The Lead here:
Edward Kieswetter – focus on the jobs of the future
SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter told The Lead that the revenue service plays a crucial role in raising revenue for the government to implement these reforms and has put in significant work to rebuild the National Treasury following its “hollowing out” during the state capture era.
He raised two questions to consider when evaluating options for creating jobs for South Africa’s future taxpayers over the decade to come.
READ | On the Record: South Africa cannot fix youth unemployment if children can’t read – Gwarube
“My general concern for a conference like this is not to ask the question: Do we need to create 5 million jobs? But firstly, what kind of jobs do we need to create?
“We cannot create jobs for the fourth industrial revolution. We have to create jobs for the future, where we will coexist with AI and robots.
“Secondly, my bigger concern is whether the supply side is alive and responsive to that. What happens to the million kids we lose over the 12 years of schooling? Are they ready for the work?”
Busi Mavuso – put the economy over politics
Busi Mavuso, the CEO of Business Leadership SA, called for reforms and interventions that need to work, and those that do not should be scrapped. But it was her stance on foreign policy and her prioritising economics over politics that stood out.
Busisiwe Mavuso, the CEO of Business Leadership SA.
“Our foreign policy is going to have to put economics before politics, and I worry that, in terms of how we have it at the moment.
“We seem to actually be advancing a political agenda which might be undermining our economy. So, I really think we’re going to have to have a look at that.”
A property manager wants to hire more
Bevan Booysen is a property manager in Cape Town and is also a News24 subscriber.
He was encouraged by the shared voice of many panellists and spoke to the unique challenges of his industry as an entrepreneur, echoing Leon’s sentiments about the red tape involved in hiring people.
“In my industry, in property particularly, I’m trying to employ more people. I need to make money to sustain myself, but the hurdles to growth are huge. The bureaucratic process, the red tape, is massive and is a challenge to grow.
“What I found encouraging from the panellists is that they all identified that it’s something we all need to get involved in. They all look at this problem as a collective.”
A Grade 11 pupil who wants experience
Alex Schmidt is 18 years old and a pupil at the Silvermine Academy. He was present as a business student.
What stood out for me is the number of people who are unemployed in South Africa. There was a graphic that showed that if they all stood in a line, they would line up from Cape Town to Lagos in Nigeria.
Alex has his entire career ahead of him, and his major concern at this point is getting into the workforce with no experience.
“Trying to get a job at my age is hard because there are thousands of other people who need the job, so it could be hard when you’re young.
“If I had a magic wand, I’d probably want to see double the number of jobs made in the next 10 years [for young people].”
An education professional who wants a focus on maths
As a person who works for the zero-dropout campaign in the education space, Siyabulela Sandi’s mission is to ensure that pupils do not drop out of school.
One thing that stood out is that one of maths proficiency. We saw that a lot of our learners are struggling with maths. A lot of learners are struggling with it as a subject, so I think we need to be more intentional about that conversation. Not everyone’s going to be a maths boffin, but we need more creative ways to discuss it.
“If I had a magic wand, I’d fix the basic education sector and every learner who starts Grade 1 finishes matric in record time.”
News24 is back on Friday, Day 2 of its flagship summit On The Record, discussing how to create five million jobs in 10 years.
Follow the live reporting here.
If you have your own ideas, email feelgood@news24.com.