Residents from Kimberley are “sick and tired” that people from other provinces are brought to the province to work.
“As if the Northern Cape does not have people who are unemployed,” a resident says.
In reaction to a recruitment drive at a Transnet depot in Kimberley, residents and members of the Community Alliance South Africa (Casa) gathered in front of the gate of the premises on Monday, 1 September, demanding answers on why the people from the Northern Cape are overlooked in interviews and appointments.
Bassil Herbert Japhta of Casa says this is about bread and butter issues, and young unemployed residents of the city and the province who must be taken into account in local recruitment drives.
He discards the practice and the belief that people from other provinces are brought to the Northern Cape because “the people of the Northern Cape are not skilled”.
“What scarce skills do you need to be a driver – most of us have drivers’ licences. What scarce skills do you have to be a flagman?” – Bassil Herbert Japhta
Japhta says with this specific recruitment drive in the Frances Baard region, a budget was made available for skills development. However, allegedly, this is not used.
Also, applicants have to make use of “Confirmation of Residential Address” letters which are supposed to be signed by the designated ward councillor as proof that they are living in the Northern Cape. However, residents say – while showing evidence – that these letters are fraudulent and not signed by a ward councillor, but signed “on behalf of” with a “pp” and an illegible signature.
A man, who has previously been employed at Transnet in Kimberley on a four-year contract, says he has been applying constantly since 2018 for the same and other posts but with no success. In the meantime his previous post was filled by a person from another province.
Another one asked how is it possible that certain applicants are sent for a medical examination on the same day as the initial interview. He alleged that once again these applicants are not from the Northern Cape, but are appointed due to nepotism.
“There is a set recruitment process – only after you made it to the shortlist and are one of the final candidates, you are sent for a medical,” he comments.
“As residents of Kimberley, we are fighting for our rights. Our parents struggled to keep us in school so we can have a better life. And now we do not get work because people from other provinces are given preference.” – Kimberley resident
Northern Cape records largest quarterly increase in unemployment rate
According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey released on 12 August, the largest unemployment quarter-to-quarter increase was recorded in the Northern Cape (3,2 percentage points). An increase in six of the nine provinces was recorded.
This survey reports annual and quarterly increases in the official unemployment rate. In the Northern Cape, for the quarter April to June it is 32,7%, while it was reported as 29,5% for January to March, and 32% for April to June 2024.
According to the survey, for quarter April to June, the province with the highest overall unemployment rate is North West (40,1%), followed by Eastern Cape (39,5%), Free State (38,5%), Limpopo (35%), Mpumalanga (34%), Gauteng (33,8%), KwaZulu-Natal (33,4%), Northern Cape (32,7%), and Western Cape (21,1%).
“As unemployment rates increased (for the Northern Cape) for two consecutive quarters and nearly one in two people in the province are now unemployed, the provincial government must do more to ensure that SMMEs, as drivers of economic opportunities, can thrive.” This was the comment by Fawzia Rhoda, MPL, and the DA’s provincial spokesperson on Finance in mid-August.
“Unless the provincial government acts, we will continue to see increased levels of unemployment, poverty, and desperation in each quarter,” she says.
- A senior official of Transnet promised feedback on the recruitment drive.
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