Hajra Omarjee and Luphert Chilwane
17 June 2009
Johannesburg — The country celebrated Youth Day yesterday in the midst of a recession. Moreover, according to Statistics SA, 75% of the unemployed are under the age of 35 and more than 70% of that group have never had a job.
"On this day, we also reaffirm that we have heard the voice of youth in distress. We are aware of unemployed youth, those in conflict with the law, those living in abject poverty and many who seek assistance in various ways in our townships and rural villages, to enable them to achieve their true potential in life," Zuma said at the launch of the National Youth Development Agency in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng.
The agency, a merger between the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the National Youth Commission, has been established to promote co-ordination in youth development. It is tasked with formulating policy, research and development, providing youth advisory services and access to funding.
"The agency has a lot of work to do. We expect the agency to initiate programmes directed at poverty alleviation, urban and rural development and the combating of crime, substance abuse and social decay amongst youth," Zuma said.
The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) was sceptical and said the agency seemed destined to repeat the mistakes of the previous administration's youth initiatives.
"Over the past decade, the various provincial youth commissions have failed entirely to extend greater opportunities to young people. Together with the Umsobomvu Youth Fund, they ended up as little more than patronage schemes for ANC loyalists," DA leader Helen Zille said.
The party also expressed concern that young people were still restricted by the schooling system.
"The World Economic Forum ranks SA's education system 100th for quality. Zimbabwe, by comparison, is ranked 60 places higher up the list. For mathematics and science we are ranked 49 places behind Zimbabwe at 71st," DA youth spokesman Khume Ramulifho said.
Zuma said the formation of the Department of Higher Education was aimed at putting "a particular focus on the acceleration of skills development of young people in higher education".
He called on the youth to be patriotic. "Our country needs an active cadre of young people who participate in processes that contribute towards making SA a better country."
The youth agency would require more financial muscle to be effective, said the agency's acting CEO, Malose Kekana. He told Business Day yesterday in Katlehong that unless enough resources were made available, the agency would remain as "ineffective" as the National Youth Commission and the Umsobomvu fund.
"If we look at the challenges that many youth are facing, it is imperative to have more financial resources invested into this new agency."
Kekana said the agency would address all challenges faced by young people, irrespective of their political affiliation. Young people also should not think that because they belonged to a certain political party, they stood to benefit more than others. That was the wrong perception, he said.
Julius Malema, ANC Youth League president, said the former youth bodies had been "useless" and had not addressed issues faced by young people.
Mswandile Sibiya of Disabled Youth SA called on the agency to empower disabled people through business skills.
"There should be specific programmes designed to look at the interests of disabled people," he said.
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i hope the formation of the youth development agency will genuinely herald another new chapter on the fight against poverty as long as it has on board all different political affiliation personnel it might with some level of transparency as unlike umsombovu which was dominated by anc and as such general cincesus were critical about how they render service