Program Director
Ministers present
MEC’s present
Executive and District Mayors present
Councillors
Youth of South Africa.
The 37th anniversary of June 16 1976 uprising should serve as a unifying commemoration for people of South Africa, particularly the youth, regardless of race, culture and creed. It is one historical event that should bring us together as South Africans irrespective of our ideological or political inclination.
On this fateful day the whole of South Africa was set on the road to liberation. It was not the liberation for one specific population group but that of both the oppressor and the oppressed.
As much as the yoke of oppression was set to be lifted from the oppressed group the yoke of ignorance and decades of brainwashing was also set to be lifted from the oppressor group.The blindfolds were removed from the privileged group for them to see the irreparable damage caused by the inhuman system of racial segregation.
As we continue to build a free and equal society, we are frequently presented with an ugly face of bigotry and racism born out of the false notion of white supremacy whose nursery is found amongst the privileged enclaves of our society. Those who seek to reverse the gains and undermine our unity through the calculated abuse of our constitution. This we must resist and fight because it is part of the new frontiers and terrain for the struggle.
The March by the class of ’76 was not only limited to the defiance or protest against Afrikaans as the medium of instructions in our schools. But it was based on the bigger vision of building a non-racial and non sexist democratic South Africa which our Constitution upholds today.
It is the Constitution that we all bask in its glory yet some sections of our society still fail to appreciate the kindness and reconciliatory embrace that our people continues to extend. We seem to be a nation that still cries out for genuine and warm embrace amongst its people based on the values of humanity, sharing, mutual respect and love as espoused by the founders of our freedom such as Lembede, Sisulu, Braam Fischer, Yusuf Dadoo and many others.
What we need to ask ourselves as the youth of today is: What is our “March”? Is it about the freedom to unregulated substance abuse? Are we going to stand by when our flowers are mercilessly ravaged by alcohol, nyaope, cocaine, zol, and heroine.
Are we going to stand and hide those amongst us who continue to manufacture and peddle such substances? It is about time we claim back our lives, our streets and our buildings. No street should have a peddlers corner in our communities; and no house should be a manufacturers or suppliers den in our suburbs; and no building should be a “ lolies lounge” in our townships.
And we need to further ask: What is our vision today? Do we really have a vision as youth that clearly defines our trajectory? Is it about building a consumer society or economy with a huge pool of unskilled workers? Or is it about quality education and creation of society and inclusive economy in which everyone has equal opportunities? We need to define our vision and follow the path of freedom fighters who knew what was worth dying for.
As government we are determined to rid our communities of drug lords and peddlers as well as the sickness they are spreading in our communities. We are committed to saving our young flowers from perishing.
But we understand that it is not an easy battle. In order to completely destroy the sickness we need to work in partnership with our communities. It is the battle that can be won only if we collaborate. This is the challenge you as young people you must face. This should be part of your “March” or Campaign.
As we observe the Youth Month and the 37th anniversary of June 1976 revolution, we must recommit ourselves to accelerate change and bring hope to the masses of our people as a fitting honour for the fallen heroes and heroines of our struggle.
In Gauteng when we launched the 2013 Youth Month programme, we reaffirm our commitment to pursuing the ideals of generations of young people who struggled with determination and hope to make South Africa a better place.
Youth Month gives us the opportunity to celebrate our achievements and build new frontiers of youth development by strengthening partnerships between government and organised youth as well as by mobilising young people to advance their own development.
The top priority for all of us will be improving youth access to the mainstream of the economy and ensuring the effective implementation of the National Youth Employment Accord that was signed here in Orlando in April 2013 by government, organised labour, organised business as well as community and youth formations.
We will also continue to build on the advances we have already made to date in our province. Our focus and emphasis will be on the following:
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As the provincial government, in 2012/13 we succeeded in reaching our target of allocating 10% of procurement to youth-owned companies. We will further strengthen this by ensuring that during this month, our departments and municipalities maximise procurement from youth-owned companies.
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We have put considerable effort into the development and support of new and existing youth-owned cooperatives and SMMEs. In 2013/14 we will support a further 1 000 new and existing youth enterprises and cooperatives, and also assist them in accessing markets.
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Youth skills development is crucial in improving youth access to the economy and youth business development. At least 6 000 young people will benefit from learnerships, internships and experiential learning and another 10 000 young people will benefit from skills development initiatives. We will strengthen our partnerships with FET colleges and SETAs to improve youth access to training and jobs in key economic sectors.
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Through the EPWP programme, the National Youth Service Programme and National Rural Youth Service Programme (Narysec), young people will benefit directly from 30 000 work opportunities and short-term jobs and through the implementation of our New Infrastructure Maintenance Plan.
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Through the Gauteng youth placement programme, we will facilitate the placement of an additional 300 young people in both the public and private sector jobs.
- Special attention will be paid to the recruitment of young professionals into the public service to provide them with work experience and improve public service delivery.
Gauteng’s public education system is one of the best in the country, achieving the top matric results in 2012. What is important is that the top performing learners are no longer only those from more privileged backgrounds. We have awarded over 7 000 bursaries to top performing learners from no-fee schools to study further.
In 2013/14, we will award a further 2030 bursaries to top performers in no-fee schools; 1575 bursaries to learners progressing to FET colleges from no-fee schools and 1 490 bursaries for school-leavers from no-fee schools pursuing higher education opportunities. It is through government policies such as this that we have seen a massive increase in the number of people in Gauteng who have matric and post-matric, as seen through census 2011 results.
We are also conscious of the existence of a range of other youth needs and we are busy implementing effective programs in this regard. These needs include youth health care, youth safety, development of youth in agriculture, promotion of youth and deepening of democracy amongst others.
What I have just highlighted are some of the interventions we will be implementing in 2013 to ensure that political empowerment is underpinned by economic empowerment. Young people are the anointed heirs of this country and all that it holds above and under. Therefore, the great measure of our investments should be accordingly directed.
Dankie, ngiyabonga.
