Cabinet Puts Skills Shortage On Agenda

January 22, 2007
The critical lack of skills crippling virtually all structures of government and impeding effective service delivery will be high on the agenda when ministers and other senior government officials meet at this week's cabinet lekgotla.

While the cabinet remains tight-lipped about what will be discussed, it is understood that senior government officials are deeply concerned that skills development and acquisition could become a stumbling block for government's Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for SA (Asgi-SA), aimed at overcoming the obstacles to a higher rate of economic growth.
Western Union

The skills shortage has become the focus of a dedicated joint initiative for priority skills acquisition, under the leadership of Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, which aims to radically reduce the skills deficit within three years. The lack of skills is regarded as an obstacle to improving the capacity of government to spend the ever higher revenue collected by the South African Revenue Service in the current buoyant economic conditions.

Government's massive R410bn infrastructure programme and the preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup have also boosted demand on the very small pool of skilled people in the country.

In desperation, cabinet ministers such as Mlambo-Ngcuka and Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi have been driven to extend the hunt abroad for skilled foreigners and South African expatriates.

The challenge for government to spend its resources is likely to become more acute when Finance Minister Trevor Manuel tables his budget in Parliament next month, as he is expected to report a very small deficit, if not an embarrassing budget surplus.

The medium-term budget policy statement tabled in October projected a budget deficit of 0,4% of gross domestic product, but this could again be overtaken by strong revenue inflows and high levels of underspending by the state.Another obvious programme to receive attention will be poverty alleviation.

Mbeki is expected to announce an expansion of the expanded public works programme as a way of providing job opportunities for the unemployed in his state of the nation address early next month.

Mbeki said in the African National Congress (ANC) national executive committee's January statement that the programme was on course to reach its target of 1-million job opportunities in five years.

By June last year it had surpassed its employment creation targets across four sectors, with more than 300000 work opportunities created.

An extended meeting of cabinet ministers and other key government officials is held each year at this time, and was preceded by this weekend's ANC lekgotla. The ANC lekgotla debated the party's approach to the issues to be raised at the cabinet lekgotla.
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