'Urgent need for adaptable skills': Mashatile on unemployment crisis
The unemployment crisis in South Africa is more than just an economic issue but a 'moral emergency', says Deputy President Paul Mashatile.
'It affects our whole society and demands urgent action from all sectors — government, business, and communities at large,' he said.
Mashatile was speaking during the 2025 Youth Day commemoration in Potchefstroom, North West, on Monday, under the theme 'Skills for a Changing World — Empowering Youth for Meaningful Economic Participation'.
Hours before his address, protesting residents of nearby Ikageng township blocked roads complaining about service delivery.
Mashatile said the government acknowledged that the reality for young South Africans remains untenable, undesirable and unsustainable as many are confronted by high levels of unemployment, inequality and a lack of access to opportunities.
SA must address the structural challenges in its economy to tackle inequality and the growing mismatch between education and labour market demands, he said.
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Gerrie Fourie. Image: File. When Ashraf Gadar said he sensed anger in my voice during an interview on the topical labour force survey, I said certainly there is anger in my voice. This is because if Fourie's rendition of the Labour Force is an understanding and representative of what goes on the in Boardrooms of business in South Africa then only god must help us. Through Statistics South Africa the citizens of this country have engaged in a dialogue about their lives and have made South Africa and South Africans discoverable and knowable to themselves and about themselves. Anything else equivalent to what Fourie was saying is abracadabra and can only be adjudicated by magicians. You see StatsSA runs a national statistics system which implies that it has designed a project based on systems design and driven by systems thinking. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ I had to listen to John Stopforth of Investec when he said the housing index is wobbly. I had to listen to Trevor Manuel when he arrived huffing and puffing from Automn meetings in Washington asking about why the CPI is stubbornly on the up. Certainly, the system did not cohere then. 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