Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, Nylspruit, Mpumalanga
26 June 2006
Theme âDeepening youth participation to fight poverty and create workâ
MEC for Health and Social Service Mr Pogisho Pasha
Umjindi Executive Mayor Mr Richard Lukhele
Officials from Health, Social Development and Defence and Premiers Office
Youth ambassadors
Provincial Youth Commission
Community leaders
NGOs, CBOs and FBOs
Our Partners and sponsors
Educators and learners
Ladies and gentlemen
Good evening,
It gives me a great pleasure to be part of this important occasion to
officially open the Youth Indaba that aims at deepening youth participation in
issues affecting their lives. In general, adults have a tendency to discuss and
even reach decisions on behalf of the young people without their
involvement.
Tonight, when I look across this hall, I notice the presence of many young
people, and therefore commend all adults in this room, for engaging youths.
This shows that adults are moving in the right direction, in bridging the
communication gap between adults and young people. For that, we all deserve a
round of applause.
The Youth Indaba is an extension of our countryâs celebration and
commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Soweto studentsâ uprising, as we
all did on the 16th of June. The theme âAge of Hopeâ for this month touches the
hearts of many South Africans, as we remember what happened in our country
thirty years ago.
There is a clear indication that even in this Youth Indaba, we have in our
midst powerful, brave and determined young people who are willing to continue a
struggle for development.
The âAge of hopeâ should therefore indeed achieve:
* Deepening youth participation in development.
* Fighting and alleviating poverty through job creation and the promotion of
good nutrition through local community initiatives.
* Encouraging young people to actively participate in the reconstruction and
development of their own communities.
Your involvement, open and honest communication will assist in the
development of relevant programmes regarding health issues. Todayâs youths are
faced with various challenges that include amongst others poverty,
unemployment, teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections including,
HIV and AIDS.
The Youth Indaba therefore, aims at identifying mechanisms to address these
challenges, and strengthening youth participation in youth development
programmes. One of the highlights of this Youth Indaba, is the importance of
integration and collaboration of efforts by the various Government Departments,
as well as the relevant non-governmental organisation (NGOs) dealing with young
people.
No single department or NGO can address youth issues as an entity.
Therefore, throughout this Youth Indaba you will be able to see how the various
departments contribute towards improving the quality of life in our
country.
A build-up of activities has taken place as a contribution to the Youth
Month. My department is counting on several activities such as the Healthy
Lifestyles campaign, World No Tobacco Day, Healthy Environments for Children
Initiative and many more, to make a positive impact in the lives of people.
During the commemoration of the International Day against Drug Abuse in
Barberton, reference was made to the shocking statistics yielded by the South
African Youth Risk Behaviour Survey, conducted a few years ago. The study
highlights the magnitude of the problem of substance abuse in our country.
The results of the study needs to encourage all of us to jointly share the
burden of the challenges facing the young people and develop plans to overcome
risky behaviour. Subsequent to this evening, various Government Departments
will take you through a journey of learning and exposure to new
experiences.
Volunteerism is a concept that cuts across all sectors.
I urge you to embrace volunteerism as a learning exposure and opportunity to
interact with various people, learn new things and therefore widen oneâs
horizons and future prospects. It should not to be perceived in a negative
connotation of working for âmahalaâ. As a volunteer, you could make a
contribution as in youth development programmes.
Thank you for eagerly participating in this morningâs Health Walk as a
demonstration towards promoting physical activity. Adopting health promoting
behaviour as young people is a good investment for a healthy adult life. This
will bring value and improve your quality of life.
I am happy to announce that my Department is making headways in the
empowerment of school leavers. We have recruited 51 interns to participate in
our Internship Programmes. Since this programme started in 2004, 30 young
people have been absorbed in the department and others are in the private
sector and other government departments.
We are also going to engage our partners, such as Umsobomvu Youth Fund,
Youth Commission and other youth organisations, to develop other initiatives to
assist with placements of interns.
The Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority have
registered a number of clinical learnerships for unemployed young people. After
these learnerships, certificates for pharmacist assistant, auxiliary nursing,
enrolled nursing, and Diplomas in general nursing, primary health care, medical
technology, surgical nursing, and others, are awarded. Thousands of learners
have been recruited into these learnerships, to ensure that they get access to
workplace experience and receive stipend.
A three-year degree Clinical Associate Programme will commence in 2007,
targeting school leavers who matriculate with Maths and Biology. Bursaries will
be offered to those who qualify. All these programmes seek to assist in halving
unemployment among young people in the country.
The department has been engaging with various health stakeholders in our
effort to finalise a Charter for the Health Sector. The Health Charter is our
attempt to provide a coherent framework for engagement between the public and
private health sectors. It is an effort to deal with the inequities between the
two sectors as well as the transformation of the private health sector. We are
negotiating targets with respect to equity ownership within the context of
broad-based black economic empowerment. As government we will always strive to
ensure that we champion transformation initiatives that seek to meet the
aspirations of the poor and the marginalised.
In conclusion, I would like to thank all our partners and sponsors for their
generous support, commitment and dedication to make this Youth Indaba a
success. I hope and trust this Indaba will achieve its objectives. Lets all
work together to protect the future of our young people.
I now officially declare the Youth Indaba open and wish you a fruitful
week.
I thank you
Issued by: Department of Health
26 June 2006
