Ending the coronavirus pandemic and creating jobs for the millions of unemployed workers and those who lost their jobs during the lockdowns are South Africa’s top priorities, President Cyril Ramaphosa told labour leaders on Monday.
Speaking during a virtual National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) Labour School, Ramaphosa warned that the longer the COVID-19 pandemic continued, the longer the hardships would remain among the country’s working class and the poor.
“Our priority must be to bring an end to the pandemic as quickly as possible,” Ramaphosa said.
He said job creation was at the centre of the country’s economic recovery plan.
“We have identified priority interventions to create employment on a large scale and in a short space of time,” the president said.
The South African leader told the gathering that Pretoria would on Monday be receiving its first batch of one million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines from India.
South Africa has secured 20 million doses of the Oxford University-driven vaccine some of whose trial tests were conducted in this country, using volunteers to get the injections.
NM/jn/APA