Newly elected councillors across the province have the opportunity to turn the tide of unemployment in the Eastern Cape. The latest figures, released today by Stats SA, show a marginal improvement, but the Eastern Cape still has the country’s highest unemployment rate.
While the province gained an additional 36,000 jobs in the third quarter, with the official unemployment rate falling from 47.5% to 44.3%, it remains 3.1 percentage points higher than a year ago and 10.6 percentage points above the national rate.
In the province’s rural areas outside the two metros, the broader expanded unemployment (LU3) measure remained exceptionally high at 59.3%, meaning roughly three in five people seeking work can’t find gainful employment.
Buffalo City’s unemployment figures rose slightly from 30.5% to 33.7%, while Nelson Mandela Bay saw a modest recovery, from 33.1% to 32.2%.
When I returned to the Eastern Cape, I made a commitment to grow the Democratic Alliance’s representation in local government so that we can fight for stable, capable and honest local government. This is what is required to unlock growth and prosperity for all. The DA will champion this fight.
As new councils take office over the coming weeks, they have an opportunity to change the course of their municipalities. Their decisions on basic services and investment can help change the course of the province’s unemployment crisis.
The Eastern Cape has the ports, industrial base, and room to grow. But a business will think twice if it cannot get a reliable water supply, an electricity connection, or a decision on its building plans. The first test for newly elected councils is whether they can make it easier to invest and create jobs.
Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay should be engines of growth for the whole province. Their factories and ports should open markets for suppliers and producers in surrounding towns and rural communities.
Councils must set deadlines for building plan approvals, zoning decisions, and service connections, and report publicly on whether they meet them.
In every Eastern Cape council where the DA is represented, we will work with fellow councillors to make it easier for businesses to invest and grow in these municipalities. We will push to cut red tape, speed up approvals, and improve basic services.
Increased investment creates compounding opportunities for job creation, which in turn allows residents to be able to find work closer to home. Improving local government can get the Eastern Cape working for all its residents.