programme
21 September 2006
The Gauteng Youth Commission (GYC) today launched an extensive outreach
programme aimed at dealing with youth unemployment, HIV/Aids and other
challenges facing the youth in the province.
The launch was attended by more than 150 young people, representing over 80
youth formations.
During the next three months, the GYC will visit various areas in the
province to assess and review youth development projects.
This will be done through imbizos, sectoral meetings and conferences.
The youth imbizos will take place in all the six regions of the province,
with the first one kick starting tomorrow in Sedibeng (see calendar). During
these iimbizos, the GYC will visit youth projects in all regions with a view to
integrating them into their work, to talk with youth stakeholders in
communities and conclude with a mass meeting with the youth and community
leadership.
The consultation process will assist the GYC to fully understand the
challenges and the needs of the youth of Gauteng.
The GYC will also assess the work being done by the provincial and local
governments in dealing with youth development challenges. This is in line with
our mandate of co-ordinating, facilitating and monitoring the mainstreaming of
youth development in policies and programmes of the Provincial Government.
We will also investigate the possibility of piloting job creation and
sustainable youth development projects in the province through the co-operative
movement.
The imbizos will be used to inform the youth about employment and economic
opportunities available in the public sector, which have been secured through
our interventions.
Part of these interventions includes:
* ensuring that the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller, the provincial funding and
business development agency, set aside 20% of its total spending on youth owned
enterprises in the next financial year
* ensuring that more than 70% of the 198 Community Development Workers (CDWs)
deployed in various wards in the province by the Gauteng Department of Local
Government are young people. Work is in progress to bring more young people on
board
* ensuring that the Gauteng Department of Transport, Roads and Works
ring-fences 30% of its procurement spending from this financial year towards
youth owned entities.
We will use this opportunity to populate learnership and internship
programmes available for young people in all Provincial Government Departments
and municipalities.
During this financial year we will complete the establishment of a fully
capacitated research and monitoring unit, to enable us to study and understand
the changing trends of young people as well as to assess and evaluate the
mainstreaming of youth development in all Government Departments.
Jointly with all Government Departments in Gauteng, we are already on course
in the appointment of youth focal officers in Departments and have set
ourselves a deadline of June next year to ensure that all Departments are
compliant.
Another key element of our outreach programme is to ensure that youth
development finds expression in the day to day work of municipalities through
the adoption and roll-out of youth development strategies. It is worrying that
less than five municipalities of the total 14 municipalities in the province
have a clear plan or strategy on youth development. We are convinced that
consistent dialogue with all stakeholders will enable us to achieve true youth
development
Calendar of events:
Municipality/activity: Sedibeng
Date: 22 September 2006
Area: Zone 14 Sebokeng
Venue: Saul Tsotetsi Hall
Contact person: Collen Mokoena
Cell: 073 149 0272
Municipality /activity: City of Johannesburg
Date: 30 September 2006
Area: Kliptown Soweto
Venue: Youth Centre next to Railway line
Contact person: Leonard Mahashe
Cell: 082 776 7451
Municipality /activity: City of Tshwane
Date: 14 October 2006
Area: Hammanskraal
Venue: Mandela Village Community Hall
Contact person: Kedibone Diale
Cell: 083 368 0933
Municipality /activity: Ekurhuleni
Date: 21 October 2006
Area: Cnr Cross and Rose Thokoza Streets
Venue: Thokoza Auditotium
Contact person: Themba Mahlangu
Cell: 083 365 0716
Municipality /activity: West Rand
Date: 4 November 2006
Area: Munsieville
Venue: Munsieville Hall
Contact person: Lefty Njotini
Cell: 082 433 4461
Municipality /activity: Metsweding
Date: 11 November 2006
Area: Refilwe
Venue: Refilwe Community Hall
Contact person: Tshepo Rakgahla
Cell: 082 954 9489
Municipality /activity: door to door
Area: Diepsloot
Municipality /activity: Visit to Young Offenders
Date: To be confirmed
Area: Ekhuruleni
Municipality /activity: Visit to an old-age home
Date: To be confirmed
Area: Soweto
Municipality /activity: Visit to Philandalephia
Date: To be confirmed
Area: Soshanguve
Municipality /activity: Presentation of a Memorandum to the Soshanguve
Station Commander
Date: To be confirmed
Area: Soshanguve
Municipality /activity: Visit to a youth project in Kagiso
Date: To be confirmed
Area: Kagiso
Municipality /activity: Walk-about Zenzele Informal Settlement
Date: To be confirmed
Area: Zenzele
Municipality /activity: Youth fare
Date: To be confirmed
Area: Mary Fitzgerald Square
Municipality /activity: Open day
Date: To be confirmed
Area: Fountains
Enquiries: Pule Mabe
Tel: (011) 403 1636
Cell: 076 944 6750
Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government
21 September 2006
Source: SAPA
