President Cyril Ramaphosa has told delegates at the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ (Cosatu) 13th National Conference, being held at Midrand in Johannesburg, that state capture and global economic conditions have placed a severe strain on job creation in South Africa.
Ramaphosa says government is trying its best to preserve jobs in an economy that is experiencing extreme difficulty.
“As the country, we are emerging from nearly a decade of poor economic performance. Public finances are in great strain and our public debt has grown exponentially, as well as dramatically, and servicing this public debt is bringing down a heavy burden on our own public finances. The effects of state capture have been felt across several state-owned enterprises and important public institutions.”
He says South Africa is emerging from a decade of poor economic performance.
Meanwhile, the Cosatu congress was reportedly delayed earlier by members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) who protested outside the venue.
The labour federation’s 13th national congress is expected to elect new leadership in the coming days.
The entire ANC’s top six is in attendance.
Opening the congress, Cosatu President Sdumo Dlamini acknowledged the ANC‘s delegation led by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
