South Africans Don’t Need Jobs

By Noko Maleka – Insight Jozi News | [22/09/2024]

For decades, South Africans have been fed the same political promise: “We will create jobs.” Election after election, this promise resurfaces like a broken record, and yet unemployment remains one of the highest in the world. Currently, South Africa’s unemployment rate hovers above 32%, with youth unemployment surpassing 45%. These statistics prove one simple truth: South Africans do not need jobs — they need ownership.

The tragedy of our democracy is how easily citizens have become gullible to politicians and the media. Whenever a president or political party announces a plan to “create jobs,” many celebrate without asking the most important question: Where will these jobs come from?

The reality is this: no president, no matter how charismatic, can directly manufacture employment on a scale that will fix unemployment. Governments simply don’t have the mechanisms to employ tens of millions of people. At best, they can expand the public sector, but even that is bloated, unsustainable, and drains taxpayer resources.

A Cycle of Promises

This illusion has been part of our history since the dawn of democracy. In 1994, Nelson Mandela inspired the nation with hope for a better life, but even he warned that economic freedom would be a longer, harder struggle than political freedom. Thabo Mbeki, during his presidency, spoke of building an “African Renaissance,” yet unemployment soared past 25% under his watch.

More recently, President Cyril Ramaphosa promised that his administration would create two million jobs for young people within ten years through initiatives like the Youth Employment Service (YES). Yet the numbers tell a different story: youth unemployment has instead risen to devastating levels. Politicians speak, citizens applaud, but the economic reality remains unchanged.

The problem lies in the system itself. We have placed too much faith in politicians to solve unemployment, when in fact, the solution is staring us in the face: South Africans must become creators, not seekers.

The Small Business Revolution

South Africa’s economy is dominated by a handful of large corporations, many of them foreign-owned. Meanwhile, our small businesses — the backbone of any thriving economy — struggle to access funding, infrastructure, and markets. Statistics show that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contribute more than 34% to the country’s GDP, yet over 70% of small businesses fail within the first five years due to lack of support.

This is where government must rethink its role. Instead of selling dreams about jobs that will never come, government should:

1. Fund small businesses owned by South Africans.
2. Take up to 50% shareholding in those businesses.
3. Ensure these businesses are managed by boards accountable to both owners and government.

This model ensures that small businesses have access to capital, mentorship, and proper governance structures. At the same time, it keeps government invested in their success because it shares directly in the profits and growth.

Why This Model Works

When South Africans — black and white alike — are empowered with businesses that thrive, the demand for employees will skyrocket. Local entrepreneurs will need cashiers, drivers, engineers, accountants, and marketers. The private sector will no longer be dominated by mega-corporations that hire in limited numbers, but by thousands of locally-owned enterprises hungry for workers.

Ironically, this model will even solve the “foreigners taking jobs” debate. Once South Africans own the majority of businesses and create a strong demand for employees, foreign nationals who come here will not be stealing jobs — they will be filling the labor gap in industries where demand outweighs supply. In this way, migration stops being a threat and instead becomes an asset.

Beyond Dependency

South Africans must wake up from the illusion that salvation comes from politicians. Job promises are political theatre designed to win votes, not genuine solutions. As Mandela once said, “Freedom is meaningless if people cannot put food on the table.” But freedom also becomes hollow when citizens are trained to beg for jobs instead of being empowered to own the means of production.

True empowerment is not in waiting for government to hand out jobs, but in creating a society where every South African has a stake in the economy.

We don’t need jobs.
We need ownership.
We need thriving businesses.
We need a government that stops dangling carrots of false promises and instead becomes a real partner in building an economy that works for the majority.

Until then, unemployment will remain our permanent crisis. But if we shift from being gullible to being innovative, from waiting to owning, South Africa can finally rise to its full potential.

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