And within the context of building an effective and efficient civil service additional steps need to be taken, including soliciting assistance from our development partners, to speed up an integrated process of comprehensive restructuring, reorganisation and rationalisation. At the same time appropriate steps such as strategic management, change management, organisational development and human resource development and training, need to be intensified. Although South Africa is well-endowed with considerable human and natural resources, it has an extremely high incidence of poverty, a direct outcome of its unequal income distribution, high unemployment and distorted skills profile. Millions in the African and coloured population live in poverty. This high rate of unemployment amongst the nation's young people may well contribute to desperate and criminal measures.
African unemployment is also higher in the rural areas than in urban areas.
A new labour market policy is required not only to meet the challenge of job creation to solve the unemployment crisis, but also to strengthen South Africa's position in the context of global competition where high productivity and quality are part of the norm. The government is engaged in the development of a coherent human resource development policy to focus on skills acquisition and adult basic education and training. But I wish to pause here and leave the rest on this topic to Minister Tito Mboweni. The government's central goal for its macro-economic strategy is to create a strong and balanced economy which will among others, create jobs that are sustainable and at the same time democratise economic activity to bring on board the small enterprise sector. All over the world it has been recognised that the small business sector plays an important if not critical role in the economic and social development of a country.