The Presidency has revealed that over 500 000 people have directly benefited from the Presidential Employment Stimulus.
The stimulus, announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa last year, was designed in response to the severe economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.
As part of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, the Presidential Employment Stimulus aims to create new employment, provide livelihood support and protect existing jobs in vulnerable sectors.
According to the Presidency’s fourth progress report, 532 180 people profited from the intervention by the end of March 2021.
“This includes 422 786 jobs created or retained and 109 394 livelihoods supported,” the Presidency said in a statement on Tuesday.
For example, the Presidency said livelihood support entails production input vouchers for farmers, awards to the creative sector and income support for the Early Childhood Development service providers.
In addition, a further 161 972 opportunities are still being processed as part of phase one of the stimulus, bringing the number to 694 152.
Meanwhile, an additional allocation of R11 billion has been made in the budget for 2021/2022 to extend the stimulus into a second phase.
“An intensive process is currently underway to allocate these funds to programmes that will have the greatest impact in creating jobs and supporting livelihoods, including through the continuation of several existing programmes.”
The Presidency said an online dashboard has been developed to enable the public to access detailed information on the stimulus and to monitor its implementation.
This dashboard is available on https://www.stateofthenation.gov.za/employment-stimulus-dashboard.
The dashboard, according to the Presidency, will be updated regularly as data is received from implementing departments.
“The launch of this tool reflects government’s commitment to transparency and accountability in the implementation of the stimulus, and to the use of technology to enhance its impact.”
The Presidency said the Presidential Employment Stimulus has provided crucial support to South Africans in all provinces and across all age groups, creating work for the common good and enabling participants to earn an income while the labour market recovers. – SAnews.gov.za
