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The Bram Fischerville trio with a passion for food is making inroads with their fast-moving consumer goods start-up business, Lefelo Foods. 

The business, which was founded by Lesedi Tshabalala, Mbongeni Fakude and Tsholofelo Mongwenyane in 2022, produces Ama Shwam-
Shwam  puffs. Puffs are extruded corn snacks made with corn meal, and can be baked or fried

Introduced National Minimum Wage (NMW)This administration introduced a NMW for the first time in South Africa’s history, guaranteeing a minimum floor below which no worker may be paid.

Expanded social grants

Social grants for people most affected by COVID-19 were expanded, including the Special Social Relief of Distress Grant, which reached around 11 million unemployed people.

The National Strategic Plan on GBVF was developed, together with civil society, as a society-wide response to this national emergency.

Around R21 billion has been dedicated over the medium term to the implementation of the six pillars of the plan, including the economic empowerment of women.

Three new laws were introduced to strengthen the response of the criminal justice system to GBV in order to:

The Youth Employment Service (YES) was established together with private-sector partners.

YES has created over 130 000 work experiences for young people to date.

Over 1.7 million work and livelihood opportunities for unemployed South Africans have been created through the Presidential Employment Stimulus. 

New leadership was put in place in the South African Police Service (SAPS), Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) , National Prosecuting Authority and State Security Agency to ensure the stability, integrity and capability of these key crime-fighting bodies.

Increased police recruitment

This administration has increased numbers of police personnel, including the recruitment of:

The last five years has been a time of recovery and rebuilding.

From the outset, this administration has worked to address the immediate challenges facing South Africans and put in place the foundations for sustainable, inclusive growth and job creation into the future.

It has taken far-reaching actions to rebuild the economy, firstly in the wake of state capture and more than a decade of poor economic performance, secondly from a devastating global pandemic, and thirdly from a debilitating electricity crisis. 

At least 70 municipalities have applied for and been approved for the Eskom debt relief programme introduced by National Treasury last year.

The debt relief programme is aimed at assisting ailing municipalities to pay off their bulk electricity supply debt to the power utility.

This was revealed in the 2024 Budget Review drafted by National Treasury. 

The Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana recently announced that government is introducing fundamental and far-reaching reforms to infrastructure financing and delivery.

During the 2024 Budget Speech, Minister Godogwana said the reforms are to optimise the infrastructure value chain to be effective and efficient. 

Ngelihle Soka, 27, shudders to think what her life would have turned out had she not been lucky enough to be awarded a bursary by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) after completing her matric in 2013.

Born and bred in Tsomo, in the Eastern Cape, today she works as a professional registered quantity surveyor in the same department.