West Cape News

An apparently erroneous statement published in the International Herald Tribune almost six months ago has got the National Planning Commission stumped.

The global edition of the New York Times on 19 December 2009 claimed Planning Minister Trevor Manuel announced that at least one million green jobs would emerge from the green and renewable and renewable sector by June this year.

“South Africans rejoiced following Planning Minister Trevor Manuel’s announcement last night that at least one million green jobs will be created in the next six months in the country’s move toward the energy revolution,” said the International Herald Tribune. (http://iht.greenpeace.org/more-jobs-for-south-africa-says-trevor-manuel/)

The newspaper was reporting on South Africa’s adoption of a greener economy following the country’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions and shift resources towards renewable energy in order to address the country being “the 14th highest emitter of CO2 globally”.

But when questioned this week on how the job creation project was going, the National Planning Commission was nonplussed.

“We didn’t issue the original statement. This issue has nothing to do with the planning commission, please contact EDD (Economic Development Department) for comment,” said ministry head Dumisa ka Jele.

Kuben Naidoo, Acting Head of the Secretariat in the National Planning Commission, was reluctant to comment, However, he recalled the President Jacob Zuma’s address anticipating the creation of half a million jobs through public works, but said he was not aware of Manuel’s reported statement.

Naidoo said Manuel never spoke in December, his last public engagement for the year having been in November 2009.

“It doesn’t look like a speech he would have made,” said Naidoo.

But despite being unable to anticipate the number of jobs that could be created through the green sector, the NPC recognised its importance.

“Improving employment is the single biggest priority,” said Naidoo, acknowledging there was certainly space to do so in the green sector.

In his keynote address for the Green Economy Summit in Johannesburg on 20 May 2010, Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Economic Development, announced: “If South Africa is able to capture two percent of the estimated green economy in the next five years, we can expect to create up to 400 000 jobs in energy, manufacturing, agriculture, mining and services.”

He said the EDD would work with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to become a “green industrialising engine for the economy”, following R11.7 billion set aside by the IDC for green industries.

Patrick Craven, National Spokesperson for COSATU, felt the creation of 400 000 jobs over five years was a realistic target.

“Ultimately we have to aim higher,” he said, adding that he believed there was room to create a million jobs, as there were enough tasks that needed to be done.

But despite the talk about a green economy, Craven said nothing had yet been done.

“Jobs are still disappearing,” he said, “the green economy hardly exists. It’s a goal, an aim, an aspiration which we all want to see but the economy still runs in the same way as it has for the last few decades.”

He said “fundamental changes” in the country’s economic structure were necessary, and for a start South Africa needed to move away from its dependence on exporting raw materials. – Bianca Silva, West Cape News