Speaking at a conference about creating employment and sustainable enterprises in Africa, he noted that while Africa's growth levels had, prior to the economic crisis, been high, the job creation intensity of these economies had remained low.
Now that the continent was, like the rest of the world, trying to boost economic growth again, economies had to ensure that they did not "fall into this trap" again, he stated.The IOE, the Pan-African Employers' Confederation, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Business Unity South Africa were hosting the African Employers' conference to determine a way forward for Africa to ensure that it could create sustainable new jobs and ensure the sustainability of enterprises.
South African Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana would present the conclusions of the conference to the Group of 20 Labour Ministers' meeting in the US on April 19. South Africa would be the only African country to be represented at this meeting.
Nkuhlu noted that Africa would have to achieve gross domestic product growth in excess of 7 percent before it could make a significant impact in terms of creating new jobs. ILO Africa regional director Charles Dan commented that unemployment, underemployment and vulnerable employment had been common features in Africa for far too long.
