Issued by African National Congress - Parliament
17 February 2003
Honourable Madame Speaker
Honourable President
Honourable Deputy President
Honourable Members
I greet you all!
1. Introduction
The sub-theme of this address says 'EMPOWER THE YOUTH TO SECURE THE FUTURE, THUS PUSHING BACK THE FRONTIERS OF POVERTY.
In dealing with this subject it is imperative for one to start by paying tribute to the father of South African Liberation and indeed of the liberation of the entire humankind, our late President O.R. Tambo.
On the occasion of honouring South African Youth in 1981 O.R. Tambo said 'A nation, A country, A people, A movement that does not respect its youth does not deserve its future'. This profound understanding of the plight of youth has always guided the ANC in its approach to youth development. This is in contrast with the theories of reaction that tend to create a dichotomy between youth and society at large, to the extent of pushing youth issues to the periphery.
Historically, the youth of South Africa had been under a state of repression by successive apartheid governments which not only violated all their fundamental rights and opportunities by oppressive and racial-oriented laws, but also perpetually denied them opportunities to develop and prosper to their full potential.
Emanating from this context was a series of challenges that confronted and still confront youth of South Africa. Among others are challenges of unemployment, poverty, health-related issues and HIV/AIDS, lack of skills, lack of information that enables young people to make relevant and informed choices about their lives and minimal resources of youth development initiatives.
The democratic government, upon assumption of power in 1994, placed emphasis on youth development as one of the fundamental tentacles of the socio-economic and political transformation of our country. Signifying this commitment, the new government conducted extensive consultations with youth represented by their organisations.
Emphasis is currently placed on designing meaningful and sustainable strategies that define in succinct/ clear terms the nature of government's and society's interventions and anticipated impacts thereof. Youth development as a cross cutting issue continues to be a strategic priority of government. Ongoing efforts by youth development organs should ensure that this focus is sustained and the interest does not dissipate.
Systems providing for youth development
To integrate youth into governance, many things and policies were done and are well documented. These are inter-alia;
The National Executive of Government (i.e. Cabinet, Cabinet Committees and Director General of National Departments) is responsible for all executive decisions including:
There are no obvious obstacles from national or provincial government to the inclusion of youth development in all operations of governance. However the difficulty arises because different institutions play varying roles in youth development at national level. National government must ensure that there is effective co-ordination and clear operational mandates for all tiers of government through co-operative governance.
Some of the institutions involved are the National Youth Commission (NYC), Inter-departmental Committee of Youth Affairs (IDC), Office of the Status of Women, Disability and Rights of the Child and Parliamentary Monitoring Committees.
The provincial role with respect to youth development and youth work practice is very similar to that of the national sphere of governance. The difference that can be noted is that the 9 Provincial Administrations have to translate the national vision, policy frameworks, norms and standards into programmes which can be implemented in the context unique to each province than at national level for youth-sensitive resources allocation, monitoring and creating partnerships between government and civil society.
Local government is most strategically positioned to implement youth policies and youth work. While local government shares many of the national and provincial roles as part of co-operative governance, its singular role is a 'theatre of action'. Through local municipalities youth development visions and policies can be practically translated into outcomes i.e. services and facilities which communities need.
Even in areas where the competencies are placed at the provincial and national level e.g. Education, social Security grants etc. The responsibility to co-ordinate how these things happen at a local level remains in the hands of the local government officials.
Youth Economic Participation and Empowerment
It should be noted that the rate of youth unemployment is relatively high and also that the economic participation of youth differs by age, race, gender, class and education due to the apartheid legacy.
Lack of specific skills among young people, especially those that are out of the social and economic mainstream, act as a serious debilitating factor for the latter's massive involvement in income-generating activities.
The ANC at the Stellenbosch Conference in December 2002 took resolutions. Notably, are resolutions that affect youth and acknowledging that the participation of youth in the political, social and economic life of the country is key to strengthening and enhancing the culture of democracy.
In these resolutions affecting youth, emphasis was made on paying urgent attention to the implementation of youth programmes and monitoring thereof. These programmes include:
The African National Congress (ANC) led government should continue unapologetically to develop these programmes that address the needs of this sector with all youth stakeholders playing a central role.
On the other hand; Umsobomvu together with other government departments has for the past two years covered areas such as:
This is another government's attempt in pushing back the frontiers of poverty and ignorance amongst youth.
These mechanisms are in no way exhaustive since we know that societal wants are unlimited whilst resources to fulfil them are limited. This is a clear example which explains that the road to social progress is always under construction.
Justice and Safety
Young men and women form a substantial part of the population and are affected by crime and violence either as perpetrators or as victims.
By the nature of their age, some young people entering adulthood are very prone to experimenting, including criminal acts. Others find themselves with abundant free time, which they cannot use in a constructive way.
However the majority of our communities have no tolerance on criminal acts such that some tend to take the law into their hands. This (taking law into their hands) needs to be discouraged and make a point that people should respect the country's law enforcement agencies. Young people, particularly those under age, found engaged in criminal activities often spend unspecified period awaiting trial. During that period they come under further criminal influence and often become more hardened themselves.
Social mobilisation, capacity building and advocacy
Social mobilisation, capacity building and advocacy should seek to rally young people behind the transformation discourse rooted in the reconstruction and development programme. These may include:
Recommendations/ Expectations
The LED programmes have offered substantial relief to people especially in rural areas but youth involvement is pretty minimal
I thank you.