Gauteng is on course to create nearly 1-million jobs across various economic sectors, in an effort aimed at denting the unemployment scourge plaguing SA’s economic and financial hub.
The province, which contributes about 40% to national GDP, has an expanded unemployment rate of 39.9%. Its GDP grew by 1.2% over the past year, compared to the national rate of 0.4%, cementing the province’s role as a serious economic driver.
Delivering the state of the province address (Sopa) at the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ) in Pretoria on Monday night, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi said the province’s biggest challenge was tackling unemployment.
“Under both public and private employment initiatives, we can confirm that 271,150 new permanent jobs and 561,000 employment opportunities will be created... both these categories of permanent jobs and employment opportunities bring us to a total of 832,150,” Lesufi said.
He said phase two of the TASEZ will “pump R6.1bn ... in private sector investment and R3.95bn from government partnerships, thus creating 4,000 construction jobs and 2,150 post-construction jobs”.
The TASEZ is a special purpose vehicle production zone established in May 2020 through an inter-governmental agreement between the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, Gauteng department of economic development, and the City of Tshwane.
Its first phase of the development was specifically aimed at creating additional infrastructure and capacity to support SA to be one of only three hubs in the world to produce the next-generation Ford Ranger for the Ford Motor Company. The plant produced 725 cars a day and more than 200,000 Ford Rangers per year, “a remarkable achievement”, said Lesufi.
The premier said the Public Sector Infrastructure Project would unveil a R220bn infrastructure pipeline that will create 34,000 construction jobs and 17, 000 post-construction jobs.
“The expansion of the Lanseria International Airport will attract an investment of R3bn with 3,000 new jobs for the people of Diepsloot and surrounding areas.”
Lesufi said the Mekgrereng Smart City Project had attracted an investment of R20bn, thus creating 20,000 new jobs for people of Brits and surrounding areas.
The Vaal SEZ has attracted an investment of R28bn for a Vaal Aerotropolis creating 6,000 new jobs for people of Evaton, Sebokeng and Sharpeville, he said, adding the provincial government expected to create 125,000 jobs during the expansion of the Gautrain.
“The tourism and hospitality sector are set to support 60,000 jobs, providing opportunities for our people, especially youth and small businesses, to participate meaningfully in this thriving industry.”
The premier said 459,000 job opportunities would be created through the EPWP programme. He said 40,000 people not in employment, education and training would be helped through an investment of R1.3bn from the department of higher education and training.
“Through the labour activation programme in partnership with the department of employment and labour, Gauteng has been allocated 20,000 stipend-based work opportunities [and the] Presidential Youth Employment Stimulus is going to generate 32,000 teacher assistant jobs.”
Lesufi said as a result of the investment conference convened by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Gauteng two years ago, the province secured R180bn in investment commitments, “accounting for 49.4% of the total R364.2bn pledged across the country”.
“To sustain these ongoing efforts to make Gauteng an attractive investment destination, we will, on April 3 and April 4, 2025, host the inaugural Gauteng Investment Conference under the theme, ‘Investing in Gauteng: the Engine of Africa’s 25 Growth’. This will be a launch pad to secure R800bn in new investment pledges over the next three years. The next chapter of growth is unfolding, and we invite the world to be part of it,” Lesufi said.
“From this investment conference, we envisage investment pledges of over R300bn from the private sector alone by the end of April 2025. We are not stopping here. The public sector will showcase an infrastructure pipeline of at least R220bn.”
However, DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga was not pleased about the Sopa and criticised Lesufi for missing “yet another opportunity to present to Gauteng residents what he would do differently to improve their lives”.
“Once more, the premier has chosen to mislead, by claiming easy victories, and making more promises instead of presenting practical solutions to the multiple challenges faced by our residents,” Msimanga said.
“As anticipated, economic corridors were a primary focus for the premier. According to the premier, each corridor has attracted investors and generated jobs. However, the reality is that these initiatives are largely a failure. Many of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) are facing challenges in functioning efficiently, and even those few that have succeeded have not done so due to the efforts of the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG),” he said.
“TASEZ is the only SEZ that is remotely a success; hence, it was conveniently selected to host the 2025 Sopa by the GPG. In reality, TASEZ is not a brainchild of the GPG; it’s a collaborative venture between the national Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition, which provides financial support for investor-related infrastructure through its SEZ fund, while the Gauteng department of economic development and the City of Tshwane provide limited financial support and the resources necessary to manage and implement the SEZ,” Msimanga said.
“Premier Lesufi talks about how TASEZ is creating new jobs for Gauteng residents. Sadly, the jobs created have not made a dent to over 2.5-million Gauteng residents who are currently unemployed as per the third quarterly report of the Labour Force Survey.”
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