Nasi iSpani Relaunch 2025: Real Change or Broken Promises Again?

When Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi stood before the media this week to announce the relaunch of the Nasi iSpani jobs programme, he promised change. He spoke of moving away from “tenderpreneurs” who have stalled service delivery, and of opening over 45 000 new opportunities in skills training and job placements for the province’s youth.

For many young people in Gauteng, this sounds familiar. Nasi iSpani was first launched with fanfare, billed as a flagship solution to the province’s youth unemployment crisis. But its track record has been mixed; delays in stipend payments, temporary placements with no long-term prospects, and questions about whether it truly addressed the structural causes of unemployment.

Now, with the programme’s 2025 relaunch set for 6 September, the stakes are higher than ever. South Africa’s youth unemployment rate remains among the highest in the world, and in Gauteng, young people make up the majority of the jobless.

The promise of tens of thousands of jobs and training opportunities is welcome but the question remains: is this a turning point, or just another cycle of broken promises?

What Nasi iSpani Promises in 2025

The Gauteng Provincial Government has set an ambitious target for the 2025 relaunch of Nasi iSpani: training and upskilling 45 218 young people across the province. Premier Panyaza Lesufi has framed this as both a jobs intervention and a strategy to reduce reliance on “tenderpreneurs” by building an in-house, skilled workforce that can deliver services and maintain infrastructure.

Training Opportunities on Offer

The programme is focused on practical, trade-based skills designed to create a pipeline of artisans and technical workers. Young people will be trained in:

• Bricklaying and plastering
• Painting
• Tiling and floor finishing
• Paving, landscaping and grass cutting
• Plumbing
• Welding and metalwork
• Repairs of electronic equipment
• Domestic electrical work
• Automotive repairs

These skills, according to the government, are meant to address immediate service delivery needs such as fixing traffic lights, maintaining public facilities, and supporting construction projects.

Stipends and Support

Participants will receive monthly stipends based on their education level:

• Incomplete schooling or poor matric: R1,200
• Matric with Maths/Tech Maths or Post-Matric certificates: R3,000
• Diploma holders: R5,000
• Degree holders: R6,000

The stipend structure is meant to provide basic financial relief while young people undergo training, a key feature given past complaints about unpaid or delayed stipends.

Training Sites Across Gauteng

The training will be hosted at dozens of schools and technical centres across the province, including institutions like Bedfordview High, Curtis Nkondo School of Specialisation, Thuto Lore Secondary School, Vaal High School, Meadowlands Secondary School, and many others.

This decentralised model is intended to improve access, especially for youth in townships and peri-urban areas.

The Government’s Pitch

The provincial government describes Nasi iSpani as a flagship programme that “builds a capable, ethical, and developmental state” while creating pathways for unemployed youth. By directly training thousands in practical trades, the administration hopes to both reduce unemployment and improve service delivery in Gauteng.

The big question remains: are these the skills and opportunities that can truly shift the dial on South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis or will the programme face the same problems that plagued its earlier phases?

The Youth Reality Check

For thousands of unemployed young people in Gauteng, the promise of 45 000 training and job opportunities under Nasi iSpani is tempting. But beneath the excitement lies a deep scepticism. Many remember what happened the last time the programme was rolled out and for some, the experience was far from empowering.

Broken Stipend Promises

One of the biggest frustrations voiced by participants in previous rounds of Nasi iSpani was stipend delays. Young people reported waiting months for payments, or in some cases, not being paid at all. For many, the stipends weren’t just an allowance, they were a lifeline to cover transport, food, and basic household needs. When payments didn’t arrive, the financial strain forced some to abandon the programme.

On X (formerly Twitter), one user questioned whether young people could survive on the amounts promised:

“Can you live on R1,500 salary?” — @sIRLumisi_Ls

Another pointed out the irony for graduates:

“After studying so much to get a degree, you get paid R6,000 stipend — ya South Africa.” — @sthedoingthings

Temporary Jobs, No Future

Another major concern is what happens after the programme ends. Critics say Nasi iSpani placements often provided short-term work with little chance of permanent employment. Once contracts ended, many participants found themselves back where they started: unemployed, with no clear pathway into the formal job market.

This fear of short-lived impact was echoed online:

“Otherwise, this is a good initiative that deserves to be long-term, not linked to electioneering. These jobs must come with better salaries, not stipends.” — @ShilumaneM

Election Timing and Trust Gap

The timing of the relaunch, less than a year before the 2026 national elections, has also fueled skepticism. Many young people view the announcement as political electioneering rather than genuine commitment.

“This always happens months before elections.” — @ipsmok

“Elections are next year, that’s why.” — @RichBlackWidow

Others questioned why it took so long for government to act:

“So why did it take 30 years to realize this?” — @Justacitizen357

The distrust is not just about politics; it is about delivery. Past complaints about vetting, poor placements, and unpaid stipends have left a trust gap between government promises and youth expectations.

Skills Training vs Market Demand

Big picture. South Africa’s official list of Occupations in High Demand (OIHD) guides public training. It flags roles with strong hiring intent based on surveys and labour data. It is not a “scarce skills” list and it warns about skills mismatch across the economy.

Where Nasi iSpani aligns.

• Electrical and electronics fields. The OIHD includes Electrical Engineer, Electrical Engineering Technician, Energy Engineer, and Energy Technologist. These link well with domestic electrical work and electronics repair in the programme.
• Construction ecosystem. Quantity Surveyor, Civil Engineer and Technologist feature on the OIHD. Trade support for construction improves project delivery even if some trades sit outside the OIHD table.
• Green energy. Employers signal fast growth in solar and related roles. Africa-wide research forecasts strong green economy job creation by 2030, with solar leading. Market listings in SA back up active hiring for renewable technicians.

Where alignment looks partial.

• Classic artisan trades. Policy and media often cite shortages of electricians, welders, plumbers, carpenters, and motor mechanics. Yet research shows a contested picture. The NDP set a target of 30,000 artisans a year, while the South African Artisan Movement argues many qualified artisans sit unemployed. This signals a placement and demand-location problem, not only training supply.
• Lower-wage public works tasks. Paving, landscaping, grass cutting and basic painting improve local services. These roles appear less prominently in OIHD-type lists that weight medium-term hiring and wage growth. That raises a risk of short contracts without strong absorption.

What The Data Says About Unemployment Pressure

Youth unemployment remains severe, which heightens the need for training that links to real vacancies and long-term roles. Q2 2025 data shows the jobless rate at 33.2 percent. Youth joblessness sits near half of young people.

Implications for the relaunch

• Good fit areas: electrical, electronics repair, and energy-adjacent skills link to OIHD signals and the renewable build-out. These fields offer stronger pathways if employers participate at the design stage.
• Risk areas: high-volume artisan streams and low-skill public works tasks need careful placement pipelines. Without guaranteed workplace learning, employer commitments, and funded tools, trainees face the same stall seen before.
• The OIHD also cautions against using the list as a proxy for shortages, underscoring the need for local demand checks per site.

What would improve alignment right now

1. Publish a demand map per district showing confirmed employer intake for each skill. Tie seats to letters of intent.
2. Prioritise electrical, energy, and construction-tech pathways with NQF-linked progression, not only entry tasks.
3. Blend green-skills modules into electrical and construction tracks, matching hiring trends in solar and storage.
4. Fix stipend logistics so trainees stay the course, then lock in placement ratios before cohort intake, given the contested artisan market.

Understanding the Unemployment Crisis

South Africa’s unemployment problem is not new, but its persistence, especially among the youth, has become one of the defining challenges of the democratic era. In Gauteng, the country’s economic hub, the situation is particularly stark: young people make up the majority of the jobless, and many of them have never worked a formal job at all.

The Numbers Behind the Crisis

The latest labour data paints a sobering picture. South Africa’s overall unemployment rate stands at 33.2 percent (Q2 2025), with youth unemployment hovering near 50 percent. This means that half of the country’s young people; many with tertiary qualifications are out of work. The Gauteng labour market mirrors this national trend, with township youth among the hardest hit.

Why So Many Youth Are Unemployed

Several structural issues feed into this crisis:

• Skills mismatch: Many young people leave school or even university without the skills that employers demand. Technical fields like energy, ICT, and healthcare continue to experience shortages, while thousands graduate in oversaturated fields.
• Economic stagnation: South Africa’s economy has grown too slowly to absorb new entrants to the labour market. Even when growth occurs, it is not always job-rich.
• Work experience gap: Employers often demand prior experience, leaving young applicants locked out of opportunities, a catch-22 where one cannot gain experience without already having had a job.

Lessons from Past Programmes

South Africa has rolled out multiple youth employment initiatives before. From the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) to the Youth Employment Service (YES). While these programmes created temporary relief, they rarely translated into long-term job security. The lack of sustainable placements and weak links to high-growth industries meant many participants found themselves back in the unemployment queue once contracts ended.

Why Nasi iSpani Faces High Stakes

Against this backdrop, the relaunch of Nasi iSpani carries enormous expectations. For it to succeed, it must break the cycle of short-term placements and stipends, and instead offer clear pipelines into industries that are actually growing. Anything less risks reinforcing the view among young people that government job schemes are more about optics than real change.

Can This Relaunch Make a Real Difference?

The relaunch of Nasi iSpani arrives at a time when South Africa urgently needs more than short-term relief. The promise of 45 000 training and job opportunities sounds ambitious, but whether the programme can truly shift the unemployment needle depends on three critical factors: delivery, sustainability, and alignment with market demand.

The Potential Upside

If implemented well, Nasi iSpani could:

• Create immediate relief by putting thousands of unemployed youth into stipended training, helping ease household financial stress.
• Strengthen service delivery in Gauteng by using trainees to fix broken infrastructure — from traffic lights to school plumbing — and in the process, provide young people with practical, job-ready experience.
• Build artisanal capacity in fields where South Africa faces shortages, especially electrical and energy-related trades that are key to infrastructure recovery and renewable energy expansion.
• Demonstrate accountability if stipends are paid on time and placements are transparent, which could rebuild some of the trust lost during earlier phases.

The Risks of Repeating Old Mistakes

The biggest danger is that Nasi iSpani becomes another cycle of temporary work with no real future. Past iterations and similar programmes (like EPWP and YES) showed clear risks:

• Short-termism: Contracts end, stipends dry up, and young people return to unemployment queues.
• Poor absorption into the economy: Without firm commitments from private employers, training often leads nowhere.
• Weak monitoring: Without independent oversight, problems like unpaid stipends, ghost beneficiaries, or political gatekeeping undermine credibility.
• Skills mismatch: If trades taught do not match industries actively hiring, participants risk becoming “trained but unemployable.”

What Needs to Be Done Differently in 2025

For Nasi iSpani to make a real difference, this relaunch must break from the old playbook. That means:

• Locking in employer partnerships upfront: Every training stream should be tied to a placement guarantee, whether in the public or private sector.
• Prioritising future-ready skills: Alongside trades like plumbing and welding, more focus must go to green energy, ICT, and digital services where hiring is growing.
• Independent vetting and oversight: Transparency in recruitment and stipend payments is critical to rebuild youth trust.
• Pathways to permanence: The programme should not stop at stipends, it must link to apprenticeships, entrepreneurship support, and permanent job creation.

The Bottom Line

Nasi iSpani has the potential to be more than just another government jobs scheme. If executed with accountability and foresight, it could offer young people real tools to navigate a harsh labour market. But without structural reforms and private-sector buy-in, it risks becoming exactly what sceptics fear: a temporary political project dressed as a long-term solution.

Expert Perspectives

Policy analysts and labour economists stress that youth job schemes like Nasi iSpani can only succeed if they tackle deeper structural barriers.

• Coordination and education reform are critical. The University of Pretoria argues that youth employment programmes need far stronger alignment between training, education reform, and private-sector collaboration to have a lasting impact.
• Structural mismatches limit effectiveness. Research by the Human Sciences Research Council highlights persistent skills mismatches and limited absorption capacity, warning that temporary public works alone cannot solve the crisis.
• A broader vision is required. The Public Servants Association reports youth unemployment at 45.5% and as high as 62.1% when discouraged job seekers are included urging comprehensive reform that combines education, targeted skills development, and private-sector participation.
• Future-focused solutions emphasise alternative pathways. At the 2025 Y20 Summit, experts pointed out that South Africa must promote alternative education models and inclusive hiring practices while recognising the importance of social networks in youth employment access.
• Long-term strategies are essential. The Development Bank of Southern Africa stresses that isolated programmes are insufficient, calling for a coordinated youth employment strategy that bridges education, labour market needs, and policy instruments.

A Promise Under Pressure

The relaunch of Nasi iSpani on 6 September 2025 is arriving with heavy expectations. For Premier Panyaza Lesufi, it represents more than a jobs initiative — it is a political promise to the province’s youth that their future will not be sacrificed to failing infrastructure, tenderpreneurs, or economic stagnation.

But for the thousands of young people who have walked this road before, scepticism lingers. Stipend delays, short-term placements, and limited absorption into permanent work have left scars of mistrust. The risk is that without clear pathways into sustainable employment, this programme will once again be seen as an election-season gesture rather than a long-term solution.

Experts warn that South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis cannot be solved by temporary interventions alone. Real progress demands structural reform: better coordination between government and business, training that aligns with sectors in demand, transparent vetting, and a guarantee that stipends and placements lead to permanent opportunities.

Nasi iSpani’s relaunch offers a fresh chance to reset the narrative. If the programme pays stipends on time, secures private-sector commitments, and prioritises future-ready skills, it could begin to rebuild trust and make a measurable dent in Gauteng’s unemployment crisis. If not, it risks confirming what many youth already fear: that promises of change are still promises unfulfilled.

Nasi iSpani Relaunch 2025 FAQs

1. When is Nasi iSpani being relaunched?
The Gauteng Provincial Government will relaunch Nasi iSpani on Saturday, 6 September 2025.

2. How many opportunities are available?
The programme will train and support 45,218 young people across Gauteng.

3. What training is being offered?
Youth will receive skills development in:

• Bricklaying and plastering
• Painting and tiling
• Floor finishing and paving
• Landscaping and grass cutting
• Plumbing
• Welding and metalwork
• Domestic electrical work
• Repairs of electronic equipment
• Automotive repairs

4. How much is the stipend?
Stipends vary based on qualifications:

• Incomplete schooling/poor matric: R1,200
• Matric with Maths/Tech Maths or post-matric certificates: R3,000
• Diploma graduates: R5,000
• Degree graduates: R6,000

5. Where will training take place?
Training will be hosted at schools and technical centres across Gauteng, including Bedfordview High, Curtis Nkondo School of Specialisation, Meadowlands Secondary, Vaal High, and many more (see full list on the official poster or website).

6. How do I apply?

• Toll-free number: 0800 22 88 27
• USSD: 13447472# (zero-rated)
• Email support: support@gauteng.gov.za

7. Who can apply?
Nasi iSpani is open to unemployed South African youth. Applicants will undergo vetting to ensure opportunities go to genuine candidates.