SA CAN TRAIN, EMPLOY MORE PEOPLE: THE HERALD

HERALD columnist Kazeka Mashologu Kuse’s article, “Rainbow nation that encompasses the poor? Dream on!” (August 30), correctly highlights the key problem facing our society today, namely the alleviation of poverty and the creation of jobs.

There are 2.8 million people between the ages of 18 and 24 who are not employed or being trained for future employment. This is indeed a time bomb and everything must be done to change this situation.

One can reverse the growing job crisis and the DA has a number of constructive proposals, inter alia:

ý Implementing a wage subsidy;

ý Reforming the labour market to increase flexibility;

ý Instituting a one year tax holiday for small businesses;

ý Giving tax rebates for skills development;

ý Increasing investment in infrastructure;

ý Establishing export processing zones.

This is what a DA government would do to diffuse the time bomb. We will not allow vested interests to hold the future of our nation to ransom.

South Africa has high levels of unemployment because of the ANC government’s poor policy choices. If we adopt the right policy choices South Africa can become a land of rising opportunity for all our people where the rainbow dream can be realised.

The DA has commenced on a policy review process so we can table a series of policies in mid-2012 that will place this country on an 8% growth path. This is the passport out of poverty and unemployment, and towards prosperity.

We need new policies and can no longer be bound by outmoded ideological thinking. Let’s embrace change.

Bobby Stevenson, Bhisho