Share

Vavi: SA must copy India

Johannesburg - Six million South Africans want jobs but cannot find them, Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said on Monday evening. "Most of them are young black women without education and skills," he said at a discussion at the University of Johannesburg.

"They face a lifetime of poverty. This is what I have called a ticking bomb."

Vavi said thousands of South Africans felt marginalised and ignored "living in slum shacks, collecting water from taps in the street, even having to use bucket toilets".

"This has led to a growing number of service delivery protests."

He said South Africa had been slower than other countries in eradicating poverty.

"India has shown us a way to defuse that bomb."

In 2005, India implemented a scheme which gave every rural household the right to 100 days of employment (manual labour) a year at a minimum wage.

With over 55 million participants, it had become one of the largest poverty programmes in history and had provided over two billion persondays of work, 48% of which had gone to women.

"It has reduced hunger, raised self-esteem, advanced women, strengthened civil society, and despite problems with fraud, which we in South Africa are unfortunately also familiar with, introduced new mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability," said Vavi.

He hoped South Africa could move towards a more radical programme to get young people working and to eradicate poverty.

"South Africa has been slower off the block. Yes, there have been similar schemes... but much more needs to be done to give our young people hope for a better future," said Vavi.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.92
-0.1%
Rand - Pound
23.89
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.44
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.35
+0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.1%
Platinum
909.30
+1.4%
Palladium
1,015.00
+1.3%
Gold
2,221.01
+1.2%
Silver
24.85
+0.8%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.9%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.9%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders