South Africa cannot afford endless delays in addressing unemployment, said President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday as he sought to assure citizens that phase two of the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) will bring the country closer to meeting its collective goal of decent work and opportunity for all.

Last week, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele announced that Treasury would allocate R11-billion to the second phase of the PES.

Almost R1-billion of that will go towards funding the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention.

“Unemployment in our country is a crisis. We cannot afford endless delays in addressing this problem because of bureaucratic red-tape, outdated recruitment processes, lack of capacity and planning, or programmes that are short-lived or unsustainable,” said Ramaphosa.

He said as part of the intervention, several young people would be recruited into a revitalised National Youth Service and would receive training in digital skills, while youth-owned enterprises would receive support to expand and employ.

Ramaphosa touted the success of phase one of the PES, which he said saw 84% of participants under the age of 35 and two-thirds female participants.

He pointed out that technology had made recruitment processes easier and faster.

The first phase of the stimulus saw over 500 000 people benefit from various programmes.

A Social Employment Fund under phase two will assist community organisations in agriculture, public art, informal settlement upgrades and safety.

Ramaphosa said public and social employment had provided an important stimulus to job creation, particularly during the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The success of the Presidential Employment Stimulus has shown that when we work together, move with speed, think creatively and manage our resources well, we can make a huge impact. The Presidential Employment Stimulus has demonstrated that we can create jobs if we work together as the public sector, labour, community and government. I have no doubt that the next phase of the Presidential Employment Stimulus will bring us even closer to meeting our collective goal of decent work and opportunity for all,” Ramaphosa said.