Newly-appointed Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has hinted at a plan to invest in creating employment for the youth.
However, economist Dawie Roodt says fiscal sustainability should be Godongwana’s top priority as he gets down to work following a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday.
Godongwana takes over from Tito Mboweni at a time when government spending is under pressure.
The coronavirus pandemic has also negatively affected government’s revenue.
Roodt says the new minister will have to withstand pressure from his cabinet colleagues for more government spending.
“There are many challenges waiting for the new Minister of Finance because we are in big trouble. We need to spend less money and we cannot afford to support state-owned enterprises,” adds Roodt.
Reaction to Tito Mboweni’s departure as Minister of Finance:
Unemployment is SA
In June 2021, Stats SA released its latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the first quarter of 2021.
The Labour Force Survey indicates a marginal increase in the number of unemployed people in the country, to an all-time high of 32.6%.
This is an increase of 0.1 of a percentage point from 32.5% in the fourth quarter of 2020.
This means that the number of unemployed people has increased by 28 000 taking the number to almost 7.2 million.
More job seekers giving up hope:
