Eastern Cape residents hope Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, will allocate funds to projects that will fight unemployment when he delivers his Budget Speech on Wednesday. The province lost over 30 000 jobs in the fourth quarter.

Recently, 900 people lost their jobs in the automotive sector, following the closure of tyre manufacturer, Goodyear in Kariega. The automotive and agricultural sector are the backbone of the province’s economy.

Economist, Ronney Ncwadi from the Nelson Mandela University, says more closures, would weaken the already struggling provincial economy.

“Thousands of direct jobs would be affected and many indirect jobs such as suppliers, logistics companies, catering companies, security and so on. For a small industrial town like Kariega, such a closure would reduce income dramatically, it will shake the local property market and increase business closures. This will then put pressure on municipal revenue and accelerate our migration, it could further destabilise an already fragile provincial economy.”

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