Hundreds of unemployed youth in Nkomazi, Mpumalanga, have embarked on a protest march to hand over a memorandum to RCL Foods Sugar and Milling. They are accusing the company of overlooking locals when it comes to employment.
Some of the graduates, who took part in the march, claim that they’ve been sending applications to the company without any response over the years.
“It’s been a long time. We don’t have a job. They’re hiring people from outside. As our brothers say, some come from KZN, from the Free State. So, we’re here in Nkomazi. So, we’re looking for a job,” says one of the protesters.
“We’re sitting at home doing nothing. The biggest problem is that our parents are also unemployed, and they are pinning their hopes on us to put food on the table. It is claimed that we don’t want to work, which is not true. The problem is that they don’t want to hire us,” says another protester.
Meanwhile, the organiser of the march, Sibusiso Mhlanga raised concerns about the escalating high unemployment rate in their area.
“Firstly, TSB is located in our sub-region, Nkomazi, and it’s the biggest firm. We are not only targeting TSB. We are starting here because it’s closer to us. Secondly, we have got a lot of companies that we will target, but we know TSB can have a volume, and they’ve got a lot of employees in different categories and fields. That’s why we are coming here. We are introducing ourselves here to be known in the sub-region of what we are capable of as a youth,” says Mhlanga.
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