Volume II - The Northern Cape Provincial Spatial Development ...

Northern Cape PSDF
Volume 2
North West 38.5% 20.9% 40.6%
Gauteng 52.2% 21.6% 26.3%
Mpumalanga 40.1% 20.0% 39.9%
Limpopo 28.3% 19.1% 52.6%
Office of the Premier &
Department of Rural Development & Land Reform
89
December 2011
It is evident that unemployment in the Northern Cape is a problem as seen from the estimates
obtained of the LED Strategy and PGDS. The unemployed level in the Northern Cape is lower than
the national average but the not economically active population is higher than the average for
South Africa. Furthermore, the table below illustrates that Pixley ka Seme has the highest
unemployment rate (21.6%) in the province followed by Frances Baard at 19.19%, and Namaqua
has the lowest unemployed rate (13.4%).
Table E.18: Employment in the district municipalities of the Northern Cape (Source: LED Strategy).
DISTRICT EMPLOYED UNEMPLOYED NOT ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE
John Taolo Gaetsewe 30.1% 18.6% 51.3%
Namaqua 47.7% 13.4% 39.0%
Pixley ka Seme 38.3% 21.6% 40.1%
Siyanda 47.5% 16.4% 36.1%
Frances Baard 38.2% 19.1% 42.7%
The Northern Cape’s employment level increased with 0.3% (approximately 900 jobs) from 2006
to 2007. In the same period, South Africa also experienced an increase in its employment of 1.7%
(approximately 204 000 jobs). The PGDS states that the provincial government aims to generate in
excess of 10 000 jobs annually by the year 2014. It is therefore recognised that:
a) Eradication of poverty is an imperative for sustainable development.
b) Eradication of poverty requires environmentally sustainable solutions.
c) Sustainable development requires a balance between economic growth, social
development and environmental sustainability, but with the emphasis on economic growth
until such time as wide‐spread poverty has been successfully eradicated.
d) Rolling back poverty must go hand in hand with rolling back inequality.
E.2.5 EDUCATION
The National Minister of Higher Education announced in 2010 the appointment of two task teams
to ‘explore appropriate university models’ for the establishment of a university in the Northern
Cape, and the Northern Cape Provincial Government’s own task team will report to the national
group. The Premier of the province is committed to getting the university up and running ‘in the
shortest time possible’. While pursuing this goal, the provincial government has also called on ‘big
businesses’ and state‐owned enterprises to ‘play a key role in skills development to help us
provide the technical skills required by the provincial economy’.
The recapitalisation of the further education and training (FET) sector and technical secondary
schools has been a major drive in recent years. The Northern Cape has two FET colleges. With
approximately R4‐million available in bursaries, attendance at these institutions has grown
dramatically. The Northern Cape Urban FET College comprises two campuses in Kimberley: City
Campus and Moremogolo Campus. City Campus has three departments: business studies,
engineering studies and a business unit that organises short courses in partnership with public and
private partners. Moremogolo offers business studies or skills training. The Northern Cape Rural
FET College has campuses at Kathu, Upington, De Aar, Kuruman and Namaqualand. These colleges
Dennis Moss Partnership