The Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP) is creating opportunities for young people to gain valuable work experience while helping to preserve South Africa's rich cultural heritage. The PESP is part of the broader Presidential Employment Stimulus, launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in October 2020 to help create and protect jobs and provide employment opportunities during a period of significant economic hardship. This programme focuses specifically on South Africa's creative, cultural and heritage sectors.
The National Heritage Council (NHC) of South Africa supports impactful, community-based heritage initiatives that create work opportunities, particularly for women, youth and persons with disabilities. The NHC is a statutory body responsible for the preservation, protection and promotion of the country's heritage. Through the PESP, the NHC has been able to disburse funds to various projects that aim to promote and preserve South Africa's heritage while creating sustainable employment opportunities.
One of the beneficiaries of an earlier PESP funding window was the Positive Change Youth Foundation, a non-profit organisation working to strengthen heritage knowledge among young people. The organisation managed to create 68 work opportunities for local people in Mmakau, in North West, demonstrating how investment in heritage can also create pathways to employment and skills development for communities. The jobs were temporary, but the training and experience improved participants' prospects for future work in heritage and education.
The NHC has been implementing the PESP since 2022, with four application windows having opened to date. Funding manager for the NHC, Bongiwe Magasela, said funding allocations have varied across the different cycles of the PESP. For example, PESP 3 received a R65 million allocation, while the PESP 4 received R55 million and PESP 5 received R25 million. The NHC received 326 applications for PESP 3, 438 applications for PESP 4, and 356 applications for PESP 5.
In May 2026, the NHC announced the opening of applications for the 2026/2027 PESP 7, inviting heritage practitioners, community organisations, researchers, and institutions to submit projects that aim to promote and preserve South Africa's heritage while creating sustainable employment opportunities. A total of 637 applications were received for PESP 7, demonstrating the growing demand for funding within the heritage sector and the value that stakeholders attach to the programme.
The consistently high number of applications reflects both the need for support among non-profit organisations and the important role that the programme plays in advancing heritage preservation, job creation and community development initiatives across the country. According to data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), the official unemployment rate rose from 32.7% in the first quarter to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026.
The Positive Change Youth Foundation's Project Manager, Khutso Raphepele, said the organisation operates in a largely semi-rural environment where poverty, limited infrastructure and high youth unemployment are common. The funding allowed the foundation to document findings that highlighted the deep historical connections between communities whose shared heritage is not always fully reflected in written records.
Key points
- The Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP) has created work opportunities for young people while preserving South Africa's cultural heritage.
- The National Heritage Council (NHC) has disbursed R145 million to date and received 637 applications for PESP 7.
- The programme plays a crucial role in advancing heritage preservation, job creation and community development initiatives across the country.
