Free State DETEA in partnership with National Youth Development Agency launched the Free State Youth Economic Green Programme today on the 5 June 2013 in Welkom were close to 500 members of the community attended the launch.
The aim of the programme is to assist youth to benefit in Green Economy related projects and programmes and also to facilitate mentorship and development opportunities platforms for the youth with big companies like Eskom, Sparta Telkom, Sasol firm and other companies for full empowerment within the economic development space.
The launch of the programme coincided with World Environment Day under the theme “Think.Eat.Save”. The aim is to humanise the various environmental issues facing the world and empower the people to make decisions that will help protect the environment. After the launch there will be campaigns, workshops and information sharing to raise awareness about green economy. These will be held as follows:
Sasolburg
Date: Thursday, 6 June 2013
Time: 9h00
Venue: Boiketlong Hall
Gariep Dam
Date: 10 June 2013
Time: 9h00
Venue: Town Hall
Hertzogville
Date: 11 June 2013
Time: 9h00
Venue: Community Hall
Clocolan
Date: 12 June 2013
Time: 9h00
Venue:
Villiers
Date: 14 June 2013
Time: 9h00
Venue: Community Hall
According to research, every year, 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted, therefore communities are encouraged to “Think before discarding food off as waste. The second pillar, “Eat” encourages consuming food in such a way that the environmental impact is reduced.
This means consuming organic foods that do not utilize chemicals in the production process and purchasing locally produced food. If food is wasted, all the resources invested in its production are also wasted and as such, the final pillar encourages communities to make wise decision about discarding food and “Save” as far as possible.
This activity is in line the Youth Employment Accord signed on 18 April 2013 between government, organised labour, organised businesses, community and youth formations. The parties agreed to work together to address youth unemployment and expand the opportunities for greater employment and empowerment of youth in the economy.
The Green Economy Accord, in particular, establishes a joint vision of a greener economy, with new ‘green’ jobs that can be an entry point for young entrepreneurs and first time employees into the mainstream economy.
When launching the programme, the MEC Mosebenzi Zwane urged the Free State youth to form cooperatives and start to dream big. He also indicated that money or funds are available to assist these cooperatives. “The approach to youth employment”, said the MEC, “is based on the common recognition that more jobs need to be created to ensure that the total number of South Africans employed is significantly improved”, said MEC Zwane.
Addressing the young people, Thabo Mokoka, the Executive Manager of NYDA emphasised the importance of youth cooperatives and youth entrepreneurship. He said, “public entities such as SEDA, SEFA and the Job Fund will be encouraged to develop and strengthen dedicated programmes of support for the youth enterprises and youth co-ops. He also urged the state to assist youth enterprises in the following ways:
- Simplified registration of cooperatives and youth enterprises
- Technical support in enterprise development
- Support with demand for products, eg. In school nutrition programmes and in procurement programmes
- Funding support that can complement private sector finance
In his conclusion the MEC lamented the fact that drugs are a serious problem facing the youth of South Africa and the President Zuma raised his concern through a letter to provinces requesting leadership in provinces to deal effectively with this problem. The MEC also urged the youth of Free State, to refrain from alcohol abuse.
