AN ESTIMATED 150000 jobs are being created within the green economy, the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs has divulged. “In a nutshell, we are already implementing a programme that is beginning to contribute to 150,000 jobs in this financial year.We are talking about newly created jobs,” said Director General, Nosipho Ncaba, at a briefing in Sandton.

The Green Fund is the mechanism for the department to ensure that enterprises are set up to create development opportunities associated with either natural resources rehabilitation or greening the footprint, Ncaba revealed. The department received R800 million for the Green Fund, which is money that would contribute to creating 300000 jobs over the next three years.

Minister Edna Molewa, who was also at the briefing, said 800 school leavers and unemployed graduates would be recruited to undergo training in this field. Molewa said the programme would be for a period of two-and-a-half years and participants would be recruited mainly from rural areas. “We will ensure that participants are mentored and receive relevant experience to gain access into permanent jobs in biodiversity and the green economy,” Molewa said.

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