• 4 000 people in KwaZulu-Natal have found employment in the province through the S’thesha Waya-Waya online application portal.
• The portal was launched last year for people interested in working for the local government, and receive over 100 000 applications in its first week.
• Of the 4 000, only about 100 are permanent contracts with hundreds of other positions interns and trainees.

In August last year, the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) launched the “S’thesha Waya-Waya” online recruitment drive, where it opened thousands of government-paying positions in the province and residents of KZN could apply through an online portal.

Now more than six months later, the province says the e-recruitment drive has seen the employment of over 4 000 new employees. This includes over 500 interns and 220 in-service trainees, but unfortunately, out of the 4 000 new recruits, only about 100 will see permanent contracts for local government.

This is despite the fact that last year, over 2 000 so-called permanent jobs were listed on the S’thesha Waya-Waya website. This is after Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said that creating new jobs was identified as one of the key priorities for local KZN government. Especially taking into account South Africa’s record unemployment rate.

“Having identified jobs as a priority, the province established a Jobs War Room which has now facilitated over 500 000 job opportunities, especially through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) across sectors in KwaZulu-Natal,” the premier said at the time.

As for those who found employment through training and internships, MEC for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi, says that they will be placed in different municipalities across the province, while others will be based in the department’s head office where they can gain experience for future employability.

The majority of the new employees, including professional officers, middle and senior managers, will begin their roles in April 2024. People looking for employment can still apply through the KZN online jobs portal, as most applications the department is receiving currently are from it.

“We still have more positions that have been advertised, and we encourage job seekers to utilise the platform by visiting the department website and logging onto the job portal,” explained Sithole-Moloi.

“It is an easy and cost-effective method; we want to support job seekers in securing employment.” The recruitment portal is also zero-rated, so applicants won’t use their mobile data when attempting to apply for jobs. Last year it received 100 000 applications a week after it opened, showing the demand for jobs in KZN alone.

For a guide to how to use the S’thesha Waya Waya portal, click here.

[Source – SA News]