Gauteng residents await Lesufi’s plan to tackle unemployment, water

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi speaking at an event.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi is expected to deliver the State of the Province Address (SOPA) later Monday evening at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.

His address is expected to outline government’s priorities and plans for the year ahead. While issues such as crime, illegal mining and water challenges are expected to dominate the speech, residents across Gauteng say service delivery, unemployment and support for young entrepreneurs should also take centre stage.

Some Johannesburg residents are hoping to hear how Lesufi intends to deal with unemployment, water interruptions and service delivery challenges.

Lesufi is expected to table his state of the Province Address on Monday evening where he would outline the plans of his administration for the coming year.

While some residents remain sceptical, many are hopeful that the Premier will address these critical issues – and that the address will go beyond mere talk.

One resident, Lesego Ntshoene, says many young people are opening businesses to create employment for their peers; however, they are not receiving the necessary support, particularly when it comes to funding.

Another resident says the address should prioritise service delivery, arguing that too much time is spent on ideological matters, while emphasising the need to appoint competent people in government.

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In Soweto, residents say unemployment remains their biggest challenge. Community member, Pieter Monethe, says the high jobless rate is contributing to serious social problems.

“The most important element that we are really pleading for this government to do is the issue of unemployment. As we are sitting here, I mean today is monday, look at how many people are roaming around the street. There is a high level of unemployment, and this causes a lot of problems in our community, like afrophobia.”

Ntshoene says government must support young business owners with funding to help create employment.

“There is a lot of youth and with myself we wre opening businesses we are getting creative to create like employement, you get nyda for example, we apply now, it takes years for you to even get into the programme.”

Residents say they hope their concerns will be addressed when the premier delivers the State of the Province Address later this evening.

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