Zuma’s New Year’s message
President Jacob Zuma has stressed the need to create the right environment in SA to help drive job creation.
|||Cape Town - South African President Jacob Zuma has stressed the need to create the right environment in the country to help drive job creation, saying this was crucial to the country’s success.
In his New Year’s message, Zuma said: “Our goal is to build a South Africa where economic opportunities increase for all and not just a few, and where inequality, poverty and unemployment become a thing of the past.
“In this regard, the pursuit of economic transformation will continue.
“We have to work further in 2016 to achieve broader and more meaningful black economic empowerment and participation in the economy,” Zuma added.
“This will ensure long-term economic development as well as unity, healing and reconciliation in our country.”
Zuma said that in the short-term, for many South Africans, including unemployed graduates and young people, “success in 2016 will mean finding jobs”.
“We will continue to focus on the areas we had mentioned in the 2015 State of the Nation Address, in what we called the Nine Point Plan to ignite economic growth and create jobs,”he said.
“We will need labour and business to work with government closely, as we create the enabling environment for inclusive growth and job creation.
“We will further explore opportunities in agriculture, mining, small business development, energy, growing the country’s ocean economy, transport, water and sanitation and telecommunications.”
He added that government would also work to improve the functioning, performance and governance of state-owned companies.
“We will continue stabilising the labour market, and to pursue agreement on the national minimum wage.”
Zuma said further information on key initiatives would be provided in the 2016 state of the nation address.
Zuma also said that with “each passing year, our country moves forward, towards a better life for all, against many odds”.
“We worked harder again this year,” he said. “Millions of children of the poor and the working class receive free basic education and nutrition in schools and more schools were built to improve the learning environment.
“More students from poor households received funding for higher education in 2015, and this matter will receive further attention in the New Year.
“More elderly people and the poor receive free medical care in government health facilities,” he continued. “South Africans are living longer due to improving health care. The life expectancy is now 62 years of age, which is an increase of eight percent since 2005.
“More people receive social grants to enable them to put food on the table, especially orphans and vulnerable children, the elderly and persons with disability.”
Zuma also hailed progress made in various other aspects, including South Africa’s participation in the international arena.
“However, more hard work awaits us all in 2016 as challenges still remain.
“There is a lot that is good and great about South Africa and its people,” he added.
“Let us highlight our achievements more in 2016, and then work together to fix what still needs attention.”
Zuma ended by wishing South Africans and international visitors a happy and successful new year.
ANA