Question NW2794 to the Minister in The Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities

Reply:

The department has adopted an all-of-society and an all-of-government approach to livelihoods restoration and wealth creation for unemployed women, youth and persons with disabilities through a step change to implement various projects to empower the identified categories of people in some of the poorest districts in the country. The aim of these projects is to skill and empower these categories of persons to be employable and/or to start their own businesses.

These projects include:

1. A baking skills training project to train women, youth and persons with disabilities in skills from baking bread to wedding cakes, which skills they can use to get jobs and/or start their own businesses;

2. An integrated farming value chain project that will provide training to cooperatives on farming crops and livestock, so as to leverage economies of scale to sell the produce;

3. A South African National Defence Force (SANDF) led National Service to train young people in various skills to ensure they are employable and are also able to start businesses in priority sectors with high absorption capacity such as oceans economy, manufacturing, agriculture and agro-processing and information communication technology, among others; and

4. The formation of a cooperative bank for women, youth and persons with disabilities toward the socio-economic empowerment and financial inclusion of those who have been unable to access finance from the mainstream banks.