The ANC created a society where people wait for the government to give them jobs

The ANC has created a passive society where people wait for the government to give them jobs instead of being proactive in finding employment.

This is the view of ANC National Chairperson and Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe.

Mantashe told SABC News that, under ANC rule, South Africa has developed a culture of expectation of delivery.

“You sit back in the sun and expect the state to deliver. People are not involved,” the ANC National Chairperson said.

He argued that if South Africans got involved instead of waiting for the government to provide, the country would be better off.

“It is a mistake we have committed as the ANC. I must own up to the mistake of creating a passive society instead of an active one,” he said.

Mantashe shared his own experience regarding being proactive. “I am now over 70 and have never had the government looking for a job for me,” he said.

He described how, as a younger man, he went to the mines to find a job. He used the money he earned to buy cattle and sheep back home.

“Today, because there is a progressive government, people expect that government to give them jobs. They don’t look for jobs,” he said.

“You need to queue up for a job to get employed. Adverts are not going to employ you. You need to look for adverts and apply,” he said.

He urged South Africans to move away from the attitude which creates a passive society to create an active society.

While many economists blame the ANC’s business-unfriendly policies for the high unemployment rate, Mantashe disagreed.

He stated that the ANC has delivered on its promises to South Africans and that it has changed the country’s outlook.

However, he bemoaned that many people are “not using the advantage of an ANC government”. “I am not happy about that,” he said.