Program Director
Ladies and gentlemen.
In the name of the Almighty, I greet you this afternoon. Thank you for making time to engage with the Gauteng Provincial Government this afternoon.
This gathering may not be misconstrued for a sermon, but rather an attempt by government to create a platform for dialogue with diverse stakeholders in the province. It follows close to a series of others that included students at tertiary institutions, women from various faith based organisations, leaders and students of business and most recently, young professionals.
These dialogues not only offer us an opportunity to gain insight into the concerns of our audiences but they also provide an opportunity for government to present its programme with intention to solicit support and participation in the broader socio-economic transformation processes in our country.
We unpack issues around the National Development Plan, the messages drawn from Census 2011 results, Gauteng Vision 2055, Youth Unemployment, Education and a host of subjects that have become central to shaping South Africa’s meteoric rise from the doldrums of colonial and apartheid past.
The ultimate outcome of such engagements is to determine if we are all in synch to tell a uniquely South African story of triumph over adversity so that we create a balance for development across all spectrum of our society.
The reality we are faced with remains an observed pattern of dislodgement and disengagement of certain sectors of our community, especially young South Africans that seem to be existing at another realm that is absolutely remote from the broader social discourse.
Undoubtedly, the profile of the Gauteng province as an economic hub in Southern and Sub Saharan Africa provides a plethora of opportunities that are geared towards attracting people of diverse backgrounds to embrace its responsibilities.
In that context, the profile as confirmed by census 2011 also makes it critical for individuals to churn different skills and abilities in ensuring sustainable growth and development processes, perhaps an environment that we seek to exploit through such dialogues and engagement.
However, the empirical evidence in our possession points to the fact that South Africa suffer from a poverty of skilled professionals in various areas of economy. It also shows that where we produce professionals there is a serious disjuncture between skills they have and that which the knowledge economy requires.
Thus we sit with a high number of graduates who are unemployable because what they acquired academically falls short of what the country on a developmental trajectory requires.
What we are emphasising as one of the solutions to our challenge of producing highly skilled workers is the investment in FETs. We are in no way arguing that FETs are a panacea to all our challenges in the area of economy. But we consciously acknowledge that for our country to compete globally and have sustainable growth we need to harness the skills of our people.
Having said that, it is therefore, appropriate to deal with what is also specific and resonate with the calibre of the audience this afternoon. I must hasten to mention the obvious and current challenges around the moral decay of our youthful stakeholder, perhaps reason to engage and invite church and faith based organisations to take up arms and correct such misfortunes.
In stating such, may I not be misunderstood to channel the role of the church or faith based organisations into that which fights moral decay subjectively but to also mention that there are more avenues within which such organisations can find cause and influence.The truth is, our young citizens seem totally oblivious of South Africa’s opportunities in post-colonial and apartheid epoch.
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 unparalleled zeal to make South Africa a better place.
The top priority for all of us will be improving youth access to the mainstream of the economy. We will also continue to build on the advances we have already made to date. Our focus and emphasis will be on the following:
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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 1000 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 6000 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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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.
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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.
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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.
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In 2013/14, we will award a further 2030 bursaries to top performers in no-fee schools; 1 575 bursaries to learners progressing to FET colleges from no-fee schools and 1490 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 reported in census 2011 results.
- 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 maximize procurement from youth-owned companies.
Program Director
We seem to be nurturing a generation that ignores or disinterested in the historical narrative of our [people and the country. This is evidenced by the swiftness with which our young people takes to alien cultural behaviour that were never a part of our identity as a nation.
A typical example is the extent to which young South Africans have succumbed to the scourge of substance abuse, alcohol and sexual immoralities that see young girls jostling for beds in maternity wards whilst young studs abdicate their responsibilities by hiding behind smoke infested billows of nyaope and dagga.
Unfortunately, many of these young mothers are tempted by callous and marauding adults that lure them into transsexual relations as a way of freeing them from clutches of poverty.
Such relations often give birth to HIV and AIDS infected young girls that are subsequently scorned by their male peers that in turn would stop at nothing to seek fleshly pleasures from their mothers and their grandmothers. Such a vicious circle is debilitating to a society that should essentially look up to its youth for sustainability and development.
In summary, Satanism has become another form of culture that has infiltrated our young society much to the devastation and disintegration of family and subsequent community life. The paralysis of the morals therefore tempts us to question and worry about the contribution of our young people particularly in a province whose demographic profile declares youth as forming a greater percentage of its citizens.
With such realities facing us, is it therefore not ideal that we challenge faith based organisations to turn messages of repentance from church pews into practical programmes and activities that may harm the nerve centre of satanic rituals and practices?
Is it not ideal to mobilise the church and faith based organisations to forge strategic relations with government so that they (churches) may not impose their religious dogmas into young people but may instead embrace government programmes like the National Development Plan thereby determining their specific roles within its context?
Could we as South Africans witness a united faith based agenda that tackles the moral consciousness of young people so that we at least can employ genuine and straight and accountable leaders into positions of influence at different levels and spheres of government?
With such questions in mind, one can safely conclude that South Africa’s second frontier of war is a moral one, perhaps one that clearly challenges all faith organisation to rethink their messages and position in society.
Dankie, ngiyabonga.
