Unemployment among the youth is a ticking time bomb, Gauteng Premier David Makhura said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the Gauteng Economic Indaba, in Johannesburg, he noted that the number of young people who were unable to find or engage in productive economic activities was increasing and suggested a state of emergency be declared around youth unemployment in the country.

“In the Gauteng economy, we have set a target to employ 500 000 youths by 2019. If we are able to collaborate with the private sector, we could possibly increase that number to one-million,” he stated.

He noted that unemployed youths were getting lost in the scourge of drugs and crime, highlighting that the number of young unemployed people addicted to nyaope, a low-grade heroin that was smoked or injected, was increasing.

“Drugs are destroying the next generation of South African workers and leaders, and crime is destroying the fabric of the existing society, reversing the gains of democracy,” said Makhura. 

He noted that, to date, 50 000 young people had found jobs through the Gauteng Tshepo 500 000 initiative, a Gauteng-based employment creation and entrepreneurship development programme that provides training and mentoring to young people through a set of projects.

He said those who had found jobs through this initiative were now responsible young people who were supporting their families.

“It has restored hope and given them confidence.”

Makhura urged businesses to take extraordinary measures to open the market to the youth, especially through entry-level positions for those who did not have experience, stressing that business should not be too rigid regarding entry-level job opportunities for young people.

“Sophisticated skills are not needed [for certain positions]. There are opportunities in sectors that [do not require highly-skilled individuals], such as business process outsourcing call centres,” he said.

He added that business should also not be too rigid regarding minimum wage, however, he stressed that “We don’t want [to promote] sweatshops or exploit anyone; we want to create opportunities for a generation of young people."