Youth Day 2006, Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane, Capricorn District
16 June 2006
Theme: Age of Hope: Deepening Youth Participation in development
Programme director
Members of Executive Council here present
MPs and MPLs
Executive Mayors and Local Mayors present
Councillors
Governor of the Reserve Bank Tito Mboweni
Limpopo Youth Commission Chairperson and other Commissioners
Leaders of Political Parties
Leadership of Youth formations in the Province
Veterans of the 1976 youth movement
Young people of Limpopo
Comrades and friends
We are gathered here today to pay homage to an era that marked a turning
point in the history of our country. June 16, 1976 would forever go down in
history as a one of the defining moments in the struggle for the achievement of
freedom and democracy in our country. It was on this day, 30 years ago, that
the youth of our country decided to challenge the edifice of the Apartheid
regime and vowed never again, to live under conditions of perpetual slavery.
The youth had experienced enough pain. Apartheid was no longer re-formable, but
had to be confronted head on through whatever means the youth had at their
disposal. The class of 76 had reached a point in their lives wherein they could
no longer accept and afford to be ruled in the same old way.
The rejection of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction triggered a popular
backlash against Bantu Education and radically changed the course of history
for the better. As we commemorate this event today, we also draw our attention
to the many defining moments and struggle epochs which served as a built up to
the momentum created on June 16, 1976 in Soweto. These anniversaries include:
the 1906 centenary of Bambata poll tax rebellion for free access to land, the
hundred years of Mahatma Gandhiâs Satyaghara or peaceful resistance and the
50th anniversary of the womenâs anti pass march in 1956. It is also against
this background that this year, our country celebrates the 30th anniversary of
the Soweto uprisings, which takes place during the 10th anniversary of the
adoption of our countryâs democratic Constitution.
It is also worth noting that, the celebrations of this day would not have
been achieved had it not been for many youth who risked their lives and
sacrificed their youthful pleasures so that we may be free. It is during
moments like this, that our nation recalls with fondness the sacrifices made by
such brave fighters as Peter Mokaba and many other young leaders like him who
ignited the fires of June 16 1976. We are indeed very proud of their deeds and
particularly feel highly honoured to gather in this great stadium that bears
comrade Peter Mokabaâs name. We honour his memory and those of other daring
pioneers of youth struggles who represent to us the vibrancy and the
determination of the 1976 generation.
Today, South Africa is in good hands because of the calibre of leaders like
him who were produced by the struggle. There are many other unsung heroes and
heroines who are lying in various cemeteries throughout the country, and
amongst us here there are those who participated in this student uprising from
all corners of the country, even in the remote village of Thengwe in Mutale,
the word Black Power reverberated. Comrade Victor Ravhuanzwo the station
manager of Phalaphala FM was a student leader in Thengwe High school at the
time. He is better placed to narrate the story of what happened from the 15
June 1976, in that part of the country. This bears testimony to the fact that
all South Africans contributed to freedom and democracy which we are enjoying
today, and therefore, carry the responsibility of defending it.
All these struggles and epochs, attest to the difficulties of the long road
we had to traverse as a country to be where we are today. The formalities of
this day, should afford us the opportunity to commemorate the achievements that
we have made ever since we celebrated the birth of democracy in 1994.
Since 1994, millions of young people have benefited from the many changes
brought about by freedom and democracy. These changes include; the right to
vote; freedom of speech; improved access to housing, quality education,
electricity, water and sanitation; and other opportunities of livelihood.
Our government has produced tangible gains that millions of our young people
can see and feel. There is increased access to health care; roads and houses
continue to be built where they never existed before; and our economy continues
to reach higher levels of growth, never seen in the last forty years.
Notwithstanding all these achievements, we acknowledge that, getting our people
to share in the growing economy remains a daunting challenge for us all.
The other serious challenge has been how do we create an environment that
enables the youth of today to take advantage of the programmes meant to improve
their conditions? As in the past, we would expect our Youth Commission acting
together with various youth formations to play a leading role in ensuring that
our youth get access to social and economic opportunities provided for them by
our freedom. In this regard, we are happy to note that, Twenty five percent of
our Municipalities have established Local Youth Units as part of integrating
youth development into the planning processes of Municipalities. We hope that,
by the end of this year all Municipalities would have established their Local
Youth Units as part of mainstreaming youth development. Added to these,
government will soon be introducing 14 youth advisory centres across the
province which would provide targeted advice to young people on a variety of
issues, ranging from; entrepreneur opportunities, career choices, employment
opportunities and life skills support.
In line with the Presidentâs directive, 1000 young people will be enrolled
in the National Youth Service Programme (NYSP) in our province with effect from
next month. The main purpose of this National Youth Service is the extension of
service provision to communities and skills acquisition for the youth.
Programme director
In the last 12 years, we have also taken measures to ensure that access to
social security for the poor is increased and the doors of learning and
teaching are opened to all. We have long recognised that education remains one
of the cornerstones of building a successful nation. Over and above the primary
school feeding scheme which was introduced since 1994, Government identified
2310 schools in the province as no-fee-paying schools, which means that
government will be paying R577 as school fee, per each learner, in those
identified schools. This subsidy has also been extended to all farm schools in
the province. This will no doubt go a long way in relieving poorer households
and parents in particular from the burden of paying school fees, thereby
improving school attendance by the majority of our young people.
The newly launched programme of Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of
South Africa (AsgiSA) on skills, which is called Joint Initiative for Priority
Skills Acquisition (JIPSA), requires that we pay more attention on the
production of scarce skills in our country. As we celebrate youth day this
year, we need to refocus our attention on the need for our learners to increase
their enrolment in mathematics, science and commercial subjects. The National
Department of Education has prioritised 400 national schools for maths and
science teaching as part of the Dinaledi programme. We are delighted that at
least 50 of these schools are found in our province. This gives us hope that
more mathematics and science matriculants would be produced in greater numbers
in our Province than in the past. We must emphasise the point that, these
subjects are essential in order to produce the kind of skills that our economy
needs for the sustenance of growth and development.
Programme director
As our country gears itself to rolling out more massive infrastructure
projects; like the building of 2010 stadiums, including attendant roads and
rail networks, so will the demand for more hi-tech skills increase. We would
therefore require more young people who are adequately trained and skilled to
manage these projects which are an essential part of bridging our countryâs
First and Second economies. The Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) forms
the foundational basis upon which the youth can acquire some of these basic
skills, like road building, and construction. This is why the Provincial
Government has invested R225 million in the next three years for the
recapitalisation of Further Education and Training (FET) colleges. We are
certain that this investment will go a long way in making sure that we get the
technicians and the artisans we need in order to build a successful nation.
It is also for the same reason that we have increased the number of young
people who have been employed as interns and learners in our government
departments. We are encouraged to note that this year the number of interns has
increased by 676 from 448 and it is now at 1124. On the other hand the number
of learners in the Learnership Programme has risen by 54 from 573 and it is now
at 627. Our challenge is to ensure that Departments give first preference to
these young graduates whenever vacancies occur. The same challenge goes for the
private sector and Municipalities which have learners and interns in their
employ.
Programme director
Exactly 30 years on, since that fateful winter day of June 1976; all
indications point to the fact that our country has indeed entered its new Age
of Hope. The public confidence in our Provincial Government has fundamentally
increased resonating with the advent of the Age of Hope, which our President
talked about. This has been proven by the overwhelming support which we
received in the recent past Local Government elections and further confirmed by
the recent independent survey published by Afro-Barometer where 72% of
respondents interviewed agreed that, our Provincial Government was indeed doing
a good job in improving the conditions of life of our people. It is also
heartening to note that the public approval rate of our Municipalities is the
highest in the country at about 62%.
Programme director
However, we remain alive to the fact that even as we speak today in this
gathering, the youth in South Africa comprise a bigger percentage of the
population which is poor and unemployed. On the other hand, illiteracy, HIV and
AIDS, crime, drug and substance abuse continue to wreak havoc on the lives of
many of our youth, particularly those who come from rural and poor backgrounds.
The recently adopted Integrated Strategy for Sustainable Youth Development
which has been developed by all Youth organizations in the country calls for an
integrated approach to addressing all of these challenges. Amongst some of the
main challenges that the Integrated Strategy for Sustainable Youth Development
would have to address include the following:
* Ensuring that young people extricate themselves from unemployment and
poverty by forming youth cooperatives in the different wards in which they come
from,
* The need to ensure that Government Departments and Parastatals absorb those
who complete Learnership and Internship programmes.
* The need to ensure that Government continues to prioritise and support those
of our youth who venture into entrepreneurship programmes through youth
advisory centres and other means,
* The need to ensure that there is general improvement in facilities for
culture, recreation and sports; so as to unlock the creative potential of our
youth.
* The need to ensure that young women are prepared to venture into new areas of
work previously reserved for men; and lastly.
* A need for the youth to prioritise the fight against HIV and AIDS in their
workplaces, in schools and in places where they live.
We are certainly hopeful that if this strategy is correctly implemented, it
can go a long way in fast-tracking youth development and youth economic
emancipation. Of importance is that the youth must unite just as those of 76
did by working together to overcome their challenges. This is paramount for the
realisation of the goals of our Provincial Growth and Development Strategy
(PGDS) in the short to medium term.
It is important that the strategies we employ today in dealing with youth
development tackle the present realities and not just perceptions or
assumptions of what we perceive to be youth challenges. There are more lessons
to learn from the 1976 youth, who against all odds succeeded in drawing the
countryâs attention to the evil things that where happening in South Africa at
the time. As the 2006 generation, nothing can stop you from grabbing the
imagination of masses of young people in order to change their lives for the
better.
All the youth needs to do, is to stop seeing themselves as helpless victims
of circumstances, rather than pioneers of their own destiny. The class of 76
refused to be enslaved by Bantu education, and like them; you too, can make
history by using the power which resides in your own hands and minds to defeat
poverty and underdevelopment.
You can only succeed in emulating the 1976 generation if you correctly
identify who your enemy is, in order to correctly channel your energies in
defeating this enemy. The 1976 generation knew exactly who their real enemy
was; and the 2006 generation must also endeavour to correctly identify and know
who their real enemy is; that is poverty and underdevelopment.
I thank you
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Limpopo Provincial Government
16 June 2006
