Mahlamba Ndlopfu, not Houston, we have a problem!

According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey, the official unemployment rate is now 29.0% for the second quarter of 2019. This figure represents a percentage of those still seeking employment, estimated at 6.7 million. This implies we have a bigger unemployment rate problem if we also consider the number of those having given up looking for work. The number of unemployed represents a significant portion of the population, now estimated at 58.8 million. With only 16.3 million (~28%) people employed, we have many dependent on the few for survival.

About 20% of the population lives in despair with no sight of a solution soon. If anything, this is a national disaster requiring us to collaborate in finding simple, effective and localised solutions. We cannot ignore the problem any longer simply because we have some means, though thinly spread for some, enabling us live for another day. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 July 2019.

War against unemployment must be declared in the same way army led war would be declared. The civil defence siren should be sounded and everyone to pay attention to the threat facing us.

In a crisis, gradual won’t work, but radical solutions would. Massive localisation and labour-intensive activities should be considered. We do not need workshops, but commitment and implementation.

From government, we need innovative tax regime enabling employers to “swap” their tax liability for more employment to the equivalent value, even if those jobs are for a limited period of up to one financial calendar year. Such a swap should not result in employers incurring other or further tax liabilities such as levies and other charges. The idea should be that rather than employers paying a certain portion of tax due to the national revenue collector, they should be encouraged to use the equivalent portion, subject to swift revenue collector’s approval, to employ more people. I know one would ask, “But what about government’s revenue, bound to drop and resulting in government’s inability to provide for services?”

I’d simply say, we need to see this “tax sacrifice” as a financial swap, or at best, as an investment rather than an expense.

As a swap, government does not really loose much because it would have had to provide some financial relief through a social grant or other to the same person, but now, that person can provide for self and immediate dependents. Furthermore, such a move is likely to result in better health of the portion of the population as they would have an improved sense of achievement and view on life, than the gloomy situation they may have come from, which might have resulted in their health deteriorating.

As an investment, government will earn its returns when more people gain the necessary experience for improved prospects. Their wages too, can be used to stimulate the economy through purchases, and more dependents could be assisted by wages of those “special workers”.

I do not, for once, suppose my proposed approach would not come without complications. I merely wish to show that there can be many “thinking out of the box” solutions we could consider to change our current malaise. Every sector has its out of the box opportunities. We just need to apply our minds a little more, with government actively enabling the environment for such opportunities to thrive, I do not see why ours cannot be a world-class innovative first solutions that can be emulated by other nations.

Examples of some out of the box opportunities other industries could consider include the repurposing of ash from Eskom’s power generation plants.

Currently posing a huge environmental health hazard, owing to extent of pollution it causes, and resource wastage, owing to the amount of water used to dampen ash to prevent dust polluting the air, ash at dump sites could be reused profitably. For instance, it could be used, among others, to make concrete blocks of different sizes and shapes and these in turn, sold and used as roadside barriers, pavements, bins, decorative artifact for gardens and parks and manhole covers to replace the highly stolen metal equivalents. The water used to dampen ash dust can then be used in the production of those items. In this manner, many locals could be employed and this may reduce the pressure on nearby urban areas as a result of reduced urban migration.

The ICT sector and in particular, the FinTech industry can provide more opportunities too if more local development could be sourced and partnerships or integration with larger corporates fostered. South African does not really have a creativity or talent shortage problem, but trust deficit among people. It seems we are a glass half-empty mindset-oriented people on teaming or fostering integration of ideas or solutions. It seems there always is a victim and a victor, rather than a victor and a victor. Someone somewhere has a complaint about another having stolen something from them. I don’t know when it will dawn on us to become more like ants, working harmoniously together for their good (though I must say, to the queen mother’s good) than only pursuing individual success without regard for others.

But I have met many creatives in the ICT/ FinTech sphere with potential to employ many if some collaboration with bigger corporates could be fostered without compromising their financial bottom-line performance.

Again, I know others would say, “But where will those companies get the money to pay for such ideas?” If we were to truly look at the situation, there is a premium and sunk cost to the presence of inefficiencies in organisations, which could be eliminated or reduced through the implementation of new ideas. Government and big corporates alike, are awash with inefficiencies. You just have to interact with either one on a serious transaction to observe the extent of inefficiencies there. I understand that inherent cost of inefficiencies will not disappear overnight, but over time. Those future savings can be used to pay off the cost of developing and implementing efficiency gains solutions.

I may be showing up my naivety or incompetence in matters concerning the economy with some of my suggestions, but we cannot sit and wait for a good idea to land on our lap before doing something tangible about resolving the current unemployment crisis.

We do not need to panic either, but this is no time for destructive criticism and finger pointing, but an opportunity for all abled-bodied adults to put their heads together to solve the national crisis and honour the call of duty to warring against unemployment and hopelessness.

United we stand, divided we fall.