Deputy Minister Buti Manamela: Second Annual Green Youth Indaba 2015

Address by Deputy Minister in The Presidency, Mr Buti Manamela to the 2nd Annual Green Youth Indaba 2015, CSIR Conference Centre, Pretoria

Programme Director,
Deputy Minister of Labour - Inkosi Patekile Holomisa,
Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation - Ms Pamela Tshwete,
Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries - Mr Bheki Cele,
MMC for Health and Social Development , City of Tshwane - Councillor E Mabusela,
Executive Chairperson of the NYDA - Mr Yershen Pillay,
CEO of EWSETA - Mr Errol Gradwell,
CEO of FP&M SETA - Ms Felleng Yende,
Green Youth Innovators,
Invited guests.

I am honoured to participate in this 2nd Annual Green Youth Indaba 2015. The key themes for this event, being youth and the green economy and environment, are inextricably interlinked. In one sense these themes seem to be futuristic.

Youth are the future, so we are told. The economy is going green and the green economy will be the mainstream of the future. The jobs of the future have not yet been conceptualised. And yet these themes are very much a part of the present. Young people need to be educated now. Young people need to be skilled now.

Young people need to be employed now. Young people need to run their own businesses now. We need to change our consumption patterns now. We need to protect and care for the environment now. We need to build the technologies that save the future now. We need to think outside of the box now. And so the future is present with us.

The green economy and more particularly, participation in the green economy are an important global matter that is gaining traction amongst developed and developing countries. At least 9 of the 17 recently adopted United Nations Sustainable Development Goals relate directly to the green economy and the environment. In 2006, more than 2.3 million people worldwide were working in the renewable energy sector. The recycling industry in Brazil, China and the USA alone employs at least 12 million people.

Processing recyclable materials sustains 10 times more jobs than landfill or incineration (on a per tonne basis). Ecotourism has a 20 per cent annual growth rate, about six times the rate for the rest of the sector. Emerging economies' share of global investment in renewables rose from 29 per cent in 2007 to 40 per cent in 2008 - primarily in Brazil, China and India. Only 25 per cent of the world's waste is recovered or recycled. The world market for waste is worth around $410 billion a year.  

There is a growing demand globally for renewable energy solutions, technologies and products. This demand is the direct result of the challenges relating to addressing climate change, promoting sustainability and improving environmental quality. As a result, there is a rise in opportunities for environmental entrepreneurs or "ecopreneurs”. Note that I said "ecopreneurs” and not "tenderpreneurs”.

Government's industrial policy identifies "green and energy-saving industries” as a priority sector for job creation and the New Growth Path targets the creation of 300 000 additional direct jobs by 2020 in green economy sectors, including 80 000 in manufacturing, and more than 400 000 by 2030. A study by the Industrial Development Corporation, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and economic research institute TIPS supports government ambitions, estimating the potential in the formal sector of the green economy to be around 462 000 employment opportunities by 2025.

In May this year, Cabinet approved the National Youth Policy 2020. The NYP 2020 provides policy direction on key youth development matters including skills development and entrepreneurship. The NYP 2020 proposes the development of a national strategy for youth participation in the green economy.

The need for a national strategy does not indicate that nothing is being done in the area of youth participation in the green economy. On the contrary, there is sterling work being done through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), the Departments of Environmental Affairs, Water and Sanitation, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Various bursary and scholarship schemes from government provide study opportunities for youth to access key sectors within the green economy. The Green Fund continues to support viable green youth enterprises. The national strategy will provide a comprehensive assessment of current programmes and initiatives. Furthermore the national strategy must identify the gaps and propose interventions to close these gaps.

In developing this strategy, youth must make proposals on some key questions related to youth participation in the green economy. These questions are:

1. What green businesses are needed now and for the future? 
2. What kinds of green jobs are possible?
3. How can green jobs contribute to decent work whilst addressing environmental challenges? 
4. How do we make green businesses sustainable and profitable?
5. How do we ensure that green jobs and green businesses employ and serve people living in urban, poor and disadvantaged communities? 
6. What kind of career guidance interventions do we need to make to ensure that young people make appropriate career choices relating to skills development for green jobs and green enterprises?

These are not easy questions to answer. My hope is that the today's Indaba will grapple with these questions and many more related to the green economy. Your deliberations will feed into a national strategy for youth participation in the green economy.

As young people, we should not limit our involvement to green jobs, green enterprises and the green economy, as important as these matters are. Our responsibility to care for and protect the environment goes beyond that. We need a vigilant environmental citizenship that helps us understand our place in the world and how we can contribute to its sustainability through our livelihoods and lifestyles.

I wish you well in your deliberations.

Thank you!

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