Youth Capital has urged the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to release funds for the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI), aimed at hiring teacher assistants.
During the 2024 Budget Speech, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana allocated R61.4 billion for employment programmes. This includes R7.4 billion for the Presidential Employment Initiative (PES) which equates to one year’s worth of funding.
Research conducted by SALDRU found that the BEEI boosted local economies, increasing spending and wages in project areas.
Since its inception in 2020, it has created over 1.7 million work opportunities; specifically, the BEEI provided support to learners in over 20,000 schools across the nine provinces, in both rural and urban areas, through the role of teachers’ assistants and general maintenance assistants.
Delay In Release Of Funds
Despite these allocations, Youth Capital says there has been a delay in the release of funds from the UIF.
It was communicated with Youth Capital that the funds for the PES would come from the UIF. It’s now the end of August and details haven’t been shared. Since our letter was sent, we haven’t yet heard back from the DEL nor the UIF’
The delay in releasing funds has increased uncertainty among young people, which has, in some cases, made them more vulnerable to scams targeting job seekers.
"SAYouth has been the preferred platform for public employment positions. However, in July fraudulent job ads have infiltrated the platform too, so young people are unable to trust these posts either –this news has received coverage in the media too."
Youth Capital is calling for clear communication and the urgent release of the funds by the UIF citing the positive impact the PES and BEEI had on the economy and youth living in South Africa.
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