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Load-shedding continues to severely impact Gauteng’s economy, resulting in approximately 302 893 job opportunities in 2022 being lost due to load-shedding.

Our youth are the ones who are losing out on most of these job opportunities, yet the Gauteng Provincial Government is not doing enough to minimise the impact of load-shedding.

This shocking information was revealed to the DA in a reply to our questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

According to the Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Tasneem Motara, the country experienced around 3212 hours of load-shedding during 2022 compared to the 1153 hours of load-shedding experienced during 2021.

The high number of job opportunities lost highlights that the continuous rolling blackouts are harming the provincial economy.

The higher stages of load-shedding are making it difficult for small businesses to operate, especially those that rely on electricity for production.

Tomorrow, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) will release the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the first quarter of 2023. The DA expects the unemployment rate in Gauteng to increase because we had a little reprieve from load-shedding.

The DA will continue to put pressure on Premier Panyaza Lesufi to urgently find a solution to the current load-shedding crisis in the province and to explore all avenues of procuring an alternative supply of electricity.

Issued by Patrick Atkinson MPL - DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Finance