President Jacob Zuma will on Tuesday, 9 June 2015, meet with representatives of various youth organisations to discuss the National Youth Policy and various issues related to the socio-economic development and empowerment of the youth in the country, in the inaugural session of the Presidential Youth Working Group.
The Presidential Youth Working Group brings together government and youth formations to enable the youth to play a part in shaping policy and governance at the highest level. The President is supported by the Presidential Youth Development Task Team comprising deputy ministers led by the Deputy Minister for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr Buti Manamela as well as the National Youth Development Agency led by Chairperson Mr Yershen Pillay.
The youth delegates represent various sectors including professional associations, agriculture, business, education and skills development, religious sector and organisations working in the realm of social development.
The issues on the agenda include the following;
- National Youth Policy 2020
- Economic Participation and Transformation
- Education, Skills and Second Chances
- Health Care and Combating Substance Abuse
- Nation Building and Social Cohesion
- Effective and Responsive Youth Development Institutions
The country's National Youth Policy 2020, which is anchored on the National Development Plan, aims to respond to four big challenges faced by young people. These are joblessness, poor skills levels, poor health care access including reproductive health care, a divided nation and the drug and substance abuse scourge.
The policy outlines initiatives and programmes that respond to these challenges which hinder our young people from taking charge of their destiny. These initiatives include:
- Capitalising on the R2.7 billion made available by both the IDC and Small Enterprise Finance Agency to finance youth-owned enterprises
- Accelerating the implementation of the Youth Employment Accord of 2013
- Introducing interventions to provide unemployed and poor young people with income and opportunities for community service and engagement
- Ensuring that Youth brigades coordinated with the National Youth Service engage 1 million young people over a period of two years as per the New Growth Path. Department of Basic Education working with private providers should support learners who need second chance to pass matric and matric rewrite programmes should be supported and widely known.
- The Department of Higher Education must develop an articulation policy to harmonise education between schools, Adult Basic Education and Training centres, community colleges, training and vocational education colleges, universities and other providers of education and training.
"I have established this Presidential Youth Working Group to accelerate the implementation of all government programmes that will enable many more young people to lead meaningful and productive lives. It is a strategic platform for government and we expect to engage other social partners such as labour and business on matters that will arise from the work of the Working Group," said President Zuma.
Enquiries:
Harold Maloka
Cell: 082 847 9799
E-mail: harold@presidency.gov.za or maloka.harold@gmail.com
