Gwede Mantashe Calls for Prioritisation of South Africans in 3 Sectors in a Resurfaced Clip

• The Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, has called for jobs in certain sectors to be for South Africans
• A clip of Mantashe speaking in Parliament resurfaced, and he said that jobs in the hospitality, construction, and farming sectors
• He said the government must also protect jobs that do not require scarce skills

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, has covered policy changes, cabinet reshuffles, the State of the Nation Address, Parliamentary Proceedings, and politician-related news, as well as elections, at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years.

PARLIAMENT, WESTERN CAPE — A clip of Minerals and Petroleum Minister Gwede Mantashe speaking in Parliament on 19 July 2024 about protecting South African jobs in hospitality, construction, and farming sectors went viral. This was after StatsSA revealed on 12 August 2025 that the unemployment rate had increased.

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Sihle Mavuso posted a video of Mantashe addressing Parliament on his @ZANewsFlash X account. In the clip, Mantasha said that the government must respond to the outcry of South Africans, who have felt that foreign nationals are occupying certain sectors in the job market. Mantashe said that jobs at the bottom end of the labour market are filled by foreign nationals.

Mantashe said that while the government supports a visa regime to attract skills and investment, it should be complemented by the government paying attention to the lower end of the market in sectors like hospitality, construction, and farming. He also said that it is easy for employers in those sectors to invite illegal migrant labour at sub-standard rates.

"It is not xenophobic to say please protect sectors that do not want complicated skills. That would be hospitality, farmwork, it will be construction," he said.

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View the X video here:

Unemployment rises to 33.2%

Mantashe's video resurfaced on 12 August when Statistics SA published its recent Quarterly Labour Force Survey statistics. The figures reveal that the unemployment rate increased from the second quarter of 2025 to 33.2%.

Mantashe's video also surfaced in the wake of tensions building between various civil society groups and undocumented foreign nationals. Operation Dudula has, since June, begun removing foreign nationals from clinics, accusing them of burdening the healthcare system.

Dudula defended its campaign in an interview with Briefly News on 12 August, a day after members who were arrested for removing a pregnant woman at Lilian Ngoyi Clinic on 7 August were released. The political party is expecting to meet with the National Department of Health to seek solutions to end Dudula's protest action against undocumented foreign nationals.

Gwede Mantashe wins defamation lawsuit

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In a related article, Briefly News reported that Mantashe won a lawsuit on 17 July against activist Zakhele Zuma, who accused him of misappropriating millions meant for employees of the East Rand Proprietary Mines.

Zuma accused him of misappropriating R40 million in a series of videos from 24 May to 10 June 2025. The courts ruled in Mantashe's favour, and Zuma was liable to pay damages.

Source: Briefly News