ActionSA writes to Gauteng SCOPA to urgently investigate Gauteng Premier’s Nas’iSpani scheme
22 June 2023
ActionSA has written to the chairperson of the Gauteng Provincial Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), Sochayile Khanyile to investigate Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s Nasi Ispani job creation scheme after allegations of cronyism emerged.
As a Party that believes in economic prosperity and justice for all, ActionSA welcomes any initiative aimed at addressing the crisis of youth unemployment which currently stands at 63,9%. However, we cannot stand by and allow state resources to be used as electioneering gimmicks by Premier Lesufi and the ANC to induce votes in next year’s national and provincial governments’ elections. All residents of Gauteng should have equal access to the jobs offered.
We are equally concerned by allegations that the hundreds of paper-based applications submitted by countless youth on June 16 have been irregularly discarded, and they therefore will not find consideration for the job opportunities said to be on offer.
We urge the Gauteng Scopa to investigate these serious allegations.
Furthermore, we support the call by ActionSA Gauteng Youth Forum that all government job applications be accessible online to avoid barriers to entry and to remove possible abuse by government officials.
The role of the state is to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurship to thrive so that sustainable jobs can be created, but this cannot be achieved when the government continually fails in its mandate to do so. Thereby exacerbating chronic unemployment of 2.6 million people.
No number of state-sponsored jobs will ever address Gauteng’s unemployment rate. It is no secret that the ANC government in Gauteng and countrywide has failed to support small and emerging businesses, not to mention the crippling impact government induced load shedding has had on businesses that have been either forced to close or reduce their workforce.
ActionSA awaits Gauteng Scopa’s response and we will monitor Nasi Ispani related developments and hold Lesufi’s government accountable.
Issued by Funzi Ngobeni, ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson, 22 June 2023
