VIDEO | Presidential Employment Stimulus has created work opportunities for a million people : Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the presidential employment stimulus has created work and livelihoods opportunities for one million people to date.  Responding to the SONA debate, Ramaphosa says the youth has mostly benefitted from the opportunities.

“Our unprecedented expansion of public employment programmes has proven to be a great success. They have also proven to be an effective tool for mitigating unemployment when not enough jobs are being created by the economy. The presidential employment stimulus has created work and livelihoods opportunities for one million people to date, most of whom are young people.”

He says the government had made progress in addressing some of the country’s challenges over the past five years.

Ramaphosa says institutions including the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) have been strengthened.

“In the last five years, we have rebuilt the capability and restored the independence of institutions that are essential in our democracy, institutions that had been weakened. We have reinvigorated entities like SARS, NPA especially the investigating unit to fulfill their mandates effectively without fear or favour that we have done.”

He adds that those responsible for state capture are being prosecuted.

“The tireless work of the State Capture Commission and the investigating directorate is now bearing fruit in the prosecution of those alleged to have been involved and responsible for state capture.“

Below is the live stream:

Earlier, the President told the Joint Sitting house that parties have failed to present a fair assessment of the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“Rather than present a balanced assessment of the state of the nation they have instead resorted to dishonest self-serving rhetoric.”

He added that parties failed to acknowledge the damage caused by state capture, the coronavirus and public violence. ” Some of these honourable members have failed  to come up with practical suggestions or solutions that can resolve the many problems that our country faces today.”