Nxesi’s empty job promise: Another cynical attempt to scapegoat foreign nationals
13 July 2022
Please find attached a soundbite by Dr Michael Cardo MP.
The pledge by the Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi, to create 2 million new jobs before 2024 is nothing more than an electioneering ploy. It is an empty promise, made with all of his fingers crossed behind his back, except for his index finger, which is pointed cynically in the direction of foreign nationals.
Having sniffed the wind of anti-immigrant sentiment, Minister Nxesi has now jumped on the xenophobic bandwagon; he is trying to blame South Africa’s sky-high unemployment rate on foreign workers. But the fact is that 12 million South Africans are out of work – and we are rapidly approaching joblessness levels of 50 percent – not because of Zimbabwean waiters or Malawian truck drivers, but because the ANC has wrecked the economy.
Until the government embarks on a comprehensive programme of structural reforms – including an overhaul of rigid labour legislation – we will never be able to achieve the labour-absorbing economic growth our country needs.