SACP Eastern Cape PEC Press statement

10 May 2012

The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Eastern Cape Province notes with great concern the startling level of high job losses and unemployment in our province as issued by Statistics South Africa. The SACP is gravely disturbed to learn this sad reality that the level of unemployment has reached 28% in our beloved province, as this current job losses happened in the face of the escalating cost of living for the workers and the poor.

The statistics as has been issued show that the crisis of unemployment that is imposed to the South African working by the brutal capitalist system is increasing instead of declining. This crisis impacts severely on the poor people of the province. We are calling on our ANC alliance led government to take drastic actions in combating this scourge of unemployment and job losses; there must be an urgent creation of sustainable jobs that will cater for overwhelming majority of the poor.

Our Industrial Development Zones (IDZ) must respond to the challenges facing the working class particularly the abnormally heightening challenge of unemployment. The Expanded Public Works Programme must also create sustainable jobs, as the temporal jobs impact directly on those who have been employed temporarily and their families. The must be an inclusive Industrial Development Strategy that will focus mostly on sustainable job creation.

We are calling upon our National Government, Provincial Government, Local Government and Private sector to work collectively in an attempt to combat this crisis. We are calling for speedily roll-out of the infrastructure projects as announced by the President during the state of the nation address and our Premier, Noxolo Kiviet in the State of The Province Address and ensure that these infrastructure projects are not hijacked by the tenderpreneurs in the expense of the working class.

We recommit ourselves as the SACP to continue fighting for and on behalf of the workers and the poor, we therefore commit ourselves into working with our trusted ally the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in overcoming these challenges.

Issued by the SACP Eastern Cape:

For more information contact:

Siyabonga Mdodi : SACP Provincial Spokesperson - 083 358 8070