Trevor Manuel's plan to create jobs

An 18-year-old girl who passed matric last year but cannot afford to continue to study has a 4% chance of getting a job with a salary of R4000 a month within five years of leaving school.

Should she get piece jobs, she will live below the newly announced poverty line of R400 a month for all of her working life and her only hope of earning decent pay is when she reaches pensionable age.

These shocking statistics were revealed on Friday when the National Planning Commission, chaired by Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel, unveiled its national development plan.

An earlier diagnostic report by the commission said that, if someone reached the age of 24, or even 30, without having worked, he or she would be unlikely to get a job - ever.

The plan, released on Friday, has ambitious targets. It focuses on tackling the unemployment crisis and improving education.

The public has four months in which to comment on the plan before the cabinet approves it.

It calls for the creation of 11million jobs in the next 20 years, which the commission says will result in full employment by 2030.

This, and other targets, follow President Jacob Zuma's announcement that the government would scale down its target of creating fivemillion jobs by 2014 because of the eurozone crisis.

A recent debate by Statistics SA, Cosatu and recruitment company Adcorp revealed that up to eight million South Africans are unemployed or underemployed.

Adcorp predicted that, in the current economic climate, South Africa will lose more than 468000 jobs going into next year.

The commission said that, for the country to create 11million jobs, the economy would have to achieve a growth rate of 5.4% a year.

Manuel's commission said that this would be possible if there was the political will to make brave decisions.

"It will require re-balancing and realignment of key areas of government policy alongside some re-prioritisation in economic policy," the report said.

The commission also proposed that the government consider raising exports of products and services in areas in which South Africa has an advantage, such as mining, construction, agriculture, agro-processing, and tourism.

It proposed expanding economic opportunities by investing in infrastructure, technological innovation, private investment and entrepreneurship.

On Friday at the presidential guesthouse, businessman Cyril Ramaphosa, Manuel's deputy at the commission, admitted some of the proposals were not new. In his recent mid-term Budget statement, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said government would, in a bid to create jobs, invest more than R800-billion to develop economic infrastructure, and on other initiatives.

Manuel said that, to achieve growth, South Africa should consider a shift in trade relations from the West to the East. Some economists have said that, because of the eurozone crisis, South Africa should shift its trade partnerships with the US and the eurozone.

Manuel told The Times that the health of the economy needed support for job creation.

"We need to involve employers and trade unions. We need particular points of focus such as school-to-work and university-to-work transitions," he said.

"We need hear what it will take to increase significantly the integration of young people into employment. We hope employers will not see the provision of jobs as a burden but as a great opportunity."

Youth leaders said many graduates were working as cashiers or petrol-pump attendants.

INSIDE MANUEL'S PLAN

The National Development Plan highlighted the changes needed to achieve economic growth, job creation, quality education and better, more sustainable livelihoods.

The plan is to:

Economy and employment

• Increase the percentage of working adults from 41% to 61%;
• Grow exports 6% by 2030;
• Lift the savings rate from 15% to 25% in 20 years.

Economic infrastructure

• Provide everyone with access to clean water;
• Complete phase two of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project by 2020;
• Increase electricity-generation capacity by 30000MW by 2030;
• Introduce affordable broadband internet.

Education, training and innovation

• Provide all children with at least two years of pre-school education;
• Increase pupil-retention rate to 90% and to achieve an 80% national pass rate in grade 12. The current drop-out rate is 46%;
• Produce 20000 artisans a year.

The National Planning Commission also proposed that the knowledge of teachers be regularly tested, and that their pay be linked to performance.