South Africa needs REAL jobs, not temporary work placements

Note to Editors: This is a speech extract delivered by DA Leader Helen Zille at the DA's REAL jobs march in Johannesburg today.

Today the DA has marched to Luthuli House to highlight Jacob Zuma's failure to deliver on his jobs promise in 2009, the weak jobs promise he has made in the 2014 manifesto and our own plan for 6 million REAL jobs.

We are marching in solidarity with the 7 million unemployed South Africans who feel powerless and betrayed.

Today, we bring a message. From the north, in Limpopo, right across to the furthest reaches of the Northern Cape, we carry the voice of a nation crying out for leadership.

We gather here at Beyers Naude Square, across the road from Luthuli House, the place where South Africa's unemployed have been betrayed again and again.

And it is not only the jobless who have been betrayed. The dreams and sacrifices of great leaders like Chief Luthuli, Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, have been mocked by Jacob Zuma's ANC.

Six thousand DA supporters are marching today.

Each DA supporter represents one thousand unemployed South Africans. This is the number of unemployed people who will benefit from the 6 million REAL jobs that the DA will create when we are elected to national government.

Only one more person needs to lose his job before a real recovery can begin in South Africa - and that is Jacob Zuma!
Jacob Zuma defaults on every promise he makes.

Every policy cheque he signs, bounces.

The president promised 6 million "work opportunities" in January.

These are not real jobs. They are temporary Public Works placements - most of these so called "work opportunities" do not last longer than a week or two.

Of course Public Works jobs are an important for short-term poverty alleviation.  But most often, these opportunities only go to the same small group of well-connected ANC friends and family. They are not open for everyone to benefit from.

This is nothing but a bogus promise. It is a fake jobs promise designed to make South Africa think the president is serious about job creation.

But this is not the first time that Jacob Zuma has misled the people of South Africa with false promises about jobs.

When he became president in 2009, he promised to create five million jobs. Now there are one and a half million more unemployed people.

And it is getting worse by the day.

Under Jacob Zuma's watch, South Africa lost over thirty six thousand jobs last month, most in manufacturing and construction.

Unemployment breaks down peoples' lives, families and communities.

And this weekend we saw that while South Africans continue to struggle and lose hope, Jacob Zuma is relaxing in the ‘fire pool'.

South Africa needs a leader, but we have a president who is unable to understand the lives of others.

President Zuma thinks that he can weather the storm in his Nkandla bunker, paid for by all of us. But the storm will not pass, Mr Zuma; not this time.

Today, the DA marched a few kilometres in Johannesburg, but over the next three months, we will march across South Africa. We will visit every corner of the country to tell people about our plan for 6 million REAL jobs. Those who try to threaten and intimidate us must know that the DA will never be bowed.

It is up to the voters of South Africa to decide whether this continues.  Under a DA government we will implement an economic policy that ensures that many more job opportunities are available to many more people.

Where the DA governs, we already create more jobs than anywhere else in South Africa. Just yesterday Statistics SA released a report that shows that the DA created 98 000 jobs in the last quarter of 2013. 70% of all new jobs created were created by the DA government, and we only govern in one province. That's not us saying it - it is Stats SA.

Right here in Gauteng, the DA governs in one municipality - Midvaal. And Midvaal has the lowest unemployment in the whole province.

That is the change that we can bring to South Africa. That is the change that South Africa needs.

If the DA is elected to government on May 7. 2014, we will immediately get to work, implementing an economic policy that can create 6 million REAL, permanent jobs within ten years.

We are not afraid of making this bold commitment, because we know that with the right leadership it can be done.

We have the policies that work and the proven track record in government. But we can only do it if we work together. We need your support to get South Africa working.

I would like to offer you an invitation: Vote DA in the 2014 election, and we can fix South Africa together '.

In a democracy your vote is your most powerful weapon.

Today we don't need to give the ANC any manifesto at Luthuli House. We can just show them a ballot paper. The ballot paper is our memorandum for 6 million REAL jobs. The ballot paper is our memorandum for change. 

On 7 May, there will be many more ballot papers with DA crosses on them.

Together we can change South Africa, and we can create jobs.

Together we can build a country that we can be proud of. In this election, you have an opportunity to shape our future for the better. Lend us your vote in 2014 - you will not be disappointed. Vote for the DA.

Issued by the DA, February 12 2014

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