Deputy Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams: Youth Entrepreneurial Opportunities Dialogue

Speech by Deputy Minister of the Department of Communications, the Honourable Tembisa Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams on the occasion of the Youth Entrepreneurial Opportunities Dialogue in Thaba Nchu, Free State

Programme Director
MEC Olly Mlamleli
CEO of MICT SETA
Principal of Albert Moroka High School
Members of the business sector
Leaders of youth formations
Young people gathered here
Ladies and gentlemen

Thank you Programme Director for the opportunity to address this colloquium today. I would like to extend a warm welcome, on behalf of Government, to our honoured guests assembled here.

It is an honour and privilege to be at the Albert Moroka High School in Thaba Nchu, Free State.

I am reliably told that the school achieved a 100 percent Matric Pass Rate last year. It was also one of the top 10 schools in Mathematics and it received R100 000 from the Department of Education. Please join me in congratulating the Principal and his team for this excellent work.

The dedication shown by the learners is a true inspiration and I have no doubt that many future leaders of our nation will emerge from the school.

The principal, teachers and learners have set the bar high, and have shown us that excellence is not something you inherit. It is something you should fight for and you can only achieve it with great dedication and hard work. 

I expect the school to continue with this grand tradition. Make us all proud. I know you can do it. 

Ladies and gentlemen

Sixty years ago, on 25 and 26 June 1955 to be exact, the Congress of the People gathered at Kliptown in Johannesburg to put their demands in one document. The Congress, which was made up of various liberation forces in the country, adopted the Freedom Charter that sought to build a united, non-racial and democratic South Africa.

The Charter states that South Africa belongs to all who live in it - both black and white - and that the people shall govern.

Friends

Nearly twenty one years since South Africa’s first democratic elections significant achievements have been recorded in implementing the ideals of the Freedom Charter. We have made South Africa a better country to live in than it was before 1994. 

The Charter guided us in the implementation of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), which sought to undo the damage of apartheid and laid the foundation for an all-inclusive democracy.

The values and core beliefs of the Freedom Charter laid the basis for our democracy and our Constitution. We are now a mature democracy and every citizen has an equal vote. We hold democratic elections every five years and every South African has a right to elect a government of his or her own choice.

A number of apartheid laws have been repealed and replaced with new ones based on justice and fairness. We have provided millions of houses, water, sanitation, roads, health, education and many other social amenities that are envisaged in the Freedom Charter.

Today the Freedom Charter lives on in the National Development Plan (NDP), our blueprint for a society where all can flourish.

Many would agree with me that while progress has been made in many fronts, the struggle for socio-economic freedom still rages on. The mineral wealth of this country which lies beneath the soil has not yet translated into equal and full benefit of all South Africans. We are still confronted by the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment. 

Programme director

President Jacob Zuma has declared 2015 as the Year of the Freedom Charter and Unity Action. He also outlined in his last State of the Nation Address that we need to grow the economy at a higher rate in order to address the triple challenge and create much needed jobs. He set an economic growth target of 5 percent by 2019.

However, if the economy is to grow, it is incumbent for the youth of today to play their part and drive the change for economic growth. Within their hands lies the power to build a society where all of our young people are valued and can fulfil their dreams of a better tomorrow.

They should ensure that they acquire the right skills and education needed to grow the economy and productively contribute to our society. This country is in need of entrepreneurs and engineers, and a generation that will be the captains of industry.

The young people should become entrepreneurs by taking up business opportunities that have been made available by our government. Government has through the Industrial Development Corporation, in partnership with the NYDA and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA), made available R2, 7 billion for the next five years.

Young people should familiarise themselves with provisions stipulated in the NDP document, which is a blue for the country’s vision towards 2030.  Entrepreneurship development is key to the success of the NDP in promoting skills in young people with the aim of creating sustainable and efficient businesses capable of providing jobs and employment growth.   

Ladies and gentlemen

Government is also through the Department of Higher Education and Training addressing the skills shortage in the economy. Measures have been put in place to boost skills based by expanding access to higher education and training.

We have increased enrolments at Technical and Vocational Education Training colleges which are being promoted as centres of critical skills that our economy so desperately needs.

Our Technical and Vocational Education Training colleges are ensuring that marginalised youth and those who have fallen out of the educational, social and economic mainstream have the opportunity to become active participants in the economy.

Through these colleges we are giving young people the opportunity to reskill themselves and receive practical experience for life at work. Furthermore, we have established two new universities the Sol T Plaatjie University in the Northern Cape and the University of Mpumalanga.

Through initiatives such as the Social Accord on Youth Employment, Youth Employment Tax Incentive and our many youth support programmes we are working to change the tide of youth unemployment.

We have also appealed to businesses to open their workplaces through learnerships and internships for young people.  I am proud that MICT SETA is here to share with you more information on learnerships within the Media and Information Communication Technologies Sector. 

Further focus needs to be given in establishing business incubators in both rural and urban areas that are linked to FET colleges. These have worked well in other developing countries such as India where government and private sector have collaborated.

Government is going ahead in implementing the Digital Migration as approved by Cabinet. It is expected that the manufacturing of set top boxes will boost the local economy and create much needed jobs.

I encourage you to engage the DTT team present here on opportunities that will emanate from the Digital Migration value chain. These will include amongst others skilled content developers for the extra channels to be available on SABC platform. 

In closing

Just as the youth of 1976 led the charge to end apartheid, this generation must lead the drive to eliminate the inequalities, exclusions and disparities which still exist. We want them to explore small business opportunities that are available in our infrastructure development plan.

There are opportunities in the building of new dams, railway lines, road, ports, and smelters and other infrastructure projects. There are opportunities for young people in the ongoing maintenance of the infrastructure. There are also opportunities in the green economy for small businesses.

Our budding entrepreneurs should grab them with both hands; step forward and claim your future.  Before me I see young people who can drive the change we want in our nation.  You are the generation of entrepreneurs and active citizens who will create a better tomorrow.

Let us make our gathering here a fruitful dialogue exercise as we seek solutions to the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment that affect young people. 

Together we can break the chains of the past. Together we can build a society without limits and move South Africa forward.

Keya leboga

Enquires:
Senzeni Ngubane
E-mail: senzeni@doc.gov.za
Cell: 082 934 4658

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