Gauteng govt sets aside R50m for programme to give unemployed youth skills needed by state

JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng government has set aside R50 million for a programme aimed at providing unemployed youth with the skills needed by the state.

The programme has been named Nasi Ispani Reloaded.

The announcement about the initiative was made at a media briefing in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

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The Gauteng government has about R13 billion worth of unfinished projects.

These projects include critical facilities like schools, clinics and houses.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said that private contractors take advantage of the fact the state doesn’t have internal capacity.

"You see a traffic stop sign and it’s about to fall. To get someone to fix it, you must go on a tender to come and just turn it. Or a school that needs to be painted, you can’t paint it because the state doesn’t have that capacity. The Nasi Ispani is about building capacity for the state so that if we need plumbing, bricklaying we don’t have to go on a tender."

Lesufi has downplayed suggestions from opposition parties the Nasi Ispani programme is an electioneering plot for his party, the African National Congress (ANC).