South African media personality and businesswoman DJ Zinhle has ruffled feathers with a comment about unemployment in a radio clip that has since gone viral.

DJ Zinhle, real name Zinhle Jiyane, said “The one thing about the SA youth is that they are not just unemployed but a lot of them are unemployable. They don’t have the skill that is required.

 
She added: ” It bugs me how long it takes for us to fill positions as Era.”

Era By DJ Zinhle is a fashion accessory brand. There are several stores in local malls and they are seeking to employ staff for their new branch in Witbank.”To find the right person for our stores, it takes longer than it should in a country that has so much unemployment,” Zinhle explained.

She received backlash on social media as unemployment is a hot-button topic in a country where the official unemployment rate stands at 32.9, according to StatsSA.

@NalaThokozane said: “DJ Zinhle and those who agree with her are talking nonsense. Zinhle herself only have Matric from Siyamukela High School.”

“Fellow South Africans when you don’t support celebrities like DJ Zinhle or Pearl Thusi they complain about us being unpatriotic but when we do the first chance they get they insult us. Why isn’t helping to upskill people then,” said @afroghanga.

Zinhle took to X, formerly Twitter, to explain and apologise for the confusion her statements caused.She said: “Firstly. I apologize if I offended anyone.

“I wasn’t attacking the youth at all, as a small business owner I do employ & train people, but this doesn’t even start to solve the problems we are facing as the South African youth. I could do more with support from the government.

“How do we up-skill our youth so that they are ready for employment?

“Are we in denial that we are not getting the jobs we want because we do not have the skills required?

“Are we in denial that not all the people are getting the education they need to be employable?

“You guys are speaking from a one-sided view of graduates who have matric, a diploma etc – and can’t get jobs, I’m not saying they don’t need the assistance, they do but we need to think about the youth holistically so we can challenge the people in power.”

Radio and media personality Sizwe Dhlomo came to her defence and explained in a tweet: “Guys, DJ Zinhle is not admonishing the youth in that interview, she’s advocating for them. She’s saying the quality of our education & development doesn’t put them in the best position to be competitive in the job market.”

Zinhle is married to SA music producer Bongani Mohosana, known professionally as Mörda or Murdah Bongz. They share a daughter Asante. Zinhle also has a daughter Kairo Forbes, whose father is the late rapper AKA.