Programme Director
Chairperson of the Eastern Cape National Youth Development Agency
Entire leadership of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA)
Represented youth structures
Officials of the District Municipality and all sector departments
Our friends from the media
Invited guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I greet you all.
Yesterday we laid to rest one of our struggle stalwarts, uMama uNontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu, a daughter of the Eastern Cape. Her passing on is indeed indicative of the fact that the sun has really set for the generation of activists that committed their entire lives to the cause of liberating all South Africans. As I address you here in commemoration of the Youth Day, I would like to take a leaf from her life as reflected in her biography that her being orphaned in her youth did not destroy her ambitions.
She finished school, trained as a nurse and dedicated her life to our political struggle while raising her seven children. This she did while her husband served a life sentence with his colleague Nelson Mandela and other leaders of the African National Congress (ANC). Ma Sisulu attributes her life‟s success to youthful self-denial, discipline, steadfastness, and courage. These are the qualities that you our youth should espouse.
Ladies and gentlemen I am honoured to address you here under the theme: “Youth Action for Economic Freedom in our Lifetime”. One cannot dissociate this theme from Anton Lembede, the founding president of the ANC Youth League who authored the famous slogan “Freedom in our lifetime”. In his short life (1914 – 1947), like Mama Sisulu and the likes of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu Lembede sacrificed any selfish interests that he could have enjoyed as a professional for the cause of our liberation. As we commemorate June 16 and indeed the role that youth played in our liberation, it is important to remember that the events of 1976, were an explosion of a long-drawn resistance struggle.
We suffered tremendously consequent to colonialism and later apartheid. Our resistance was met with overpowering violence but that did not deter us from seeking means to end the Nationalist Party rule. Widespread boycotts of white businesses, rent boycotts, labour strikes and instigation of international sanctions were some of the tactics that were used in an attempt to bring down the cruel apartheid regime separating it from its means of support.
Programme director, today we remember that it was on June 16, 1976, when multitudes of South African youth emerged from township school classrooms to confront a brutal system of racial oppression universally condemned as a crime against humanity‟. Propelled by the basic human urge for freedom, young men and women took to the streets to show their discontent with the apartheid system and its laws in particular the Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974 which forced all black schools to use Afrikaans and English in a 50-50 mix as languages of instruction.
History tells us that the Regional Director of Bantu Education (Northern Transvaal Region), J.G. Erasmus, told Circuit Inspectors and Principals of Schools that from January 1, 1975, Afrikaans had to be used for mathematics, arithmetic, and social studies from standard five (seventh grade), according to the Afrikaans Medium Decree; English would be the medium of instruction for general science and practical subjects (homecraft, needlework, woodwork, metalwork, art, agricultural science). Indigenous languages would be used for religious instruction, music, and another inane subject called physical culture. This decision was binding despite a 1972 poll having found that 98% of young Sowetans did not want to be taught in Afrikaans.
As we gather here, 35 years on, reflecting on events that led to the 1976 riots, celebrating the lives of young activists who hurled themselves at the crushing force of apartheid, we remember that they unlocked a wave of human energy unequalled in the history of our country.
Addressing a similar event last year, I said that the June 1976 generation probably responded to the imperatives of their time having defined for itself its life purpose and setting about fulfilling it. My contention is that the 2011 generation should not be different.
The irony of this year‟s Youth Day celebrations is that the last of those born before or on June 16 are officially out of the youth bracket as they have gone beyond 35. Having assumed the “adult status”, I want to appeal to the older generations of our population to begin to unlearn the processes of violent protests. Apartheid was brutal and at the time, the aggressive resistance mounted against it was the only way we could register maximum impact.
Ladies and gentlemen two months ago we celebrated 17 years of our hard won democracy. Its fundamentals are based on constitutionality unlike the former regime. It is therefore disheartening to observe that our means of protest are in the same vein as was the case during apartheid while the government has availed relevant platforms to express discontent.
Last month we went into the polls for local government elections, a basic form of expression in a democratic dispensation. Furthermore, youth and their structures have the National Youth Development Agency that is made to interact with structures of government everywhere. National and provincial government departments as well as district and local municipalities have youth desks that are supposed to address the interests of the youth specifically burning issues that relate to lack of service delivery.
People, therefore, cannot act as if there are no platforms for engagement on matters affecting their lives. Destruction of government facilities that they did not struggle to build like the burning of libraries, that were not there in most areas prior 1994 especially in the former Transkei, cannot be regarded as legitimate protest.
As the Eastern Cape Provincial Government (ECPG) we strongly condemn these acts and call on young people to defend our hard fought gains and be vigilant against agent provocateurs that want to hijack genuine struggles of our people.
Our youth need to know that through the Department of Social Development and Special Programmes, which came into existence consequent to our reconfiguration of departments for better efficiency last year, we seek to bring to them more and better coordinated opportunities, naturally supporting the vision of the NYDA.
As the 1976 youth competently responded to the challenges of their time, it also becomes crucial that the young men and women who have matured in a democratic state proficiently rise to the challenges of today. The scourge of HIV and Aids, drug and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy, unemployment, lack of developmental opportunities for youth are some the rampant challenges today. The question you need to be asking yourself is: How do we overcome these challenges?
How you respond to these would determine whether or not our country goes into the next century. We are here today because the Sisulus, Mandela, Tambo and Lembede among many others responded to the challenges of their time. We are enjoying democracy because the 1976 generation sacrificed their youth and their lives so that that you and I can enjoy the fruits of freedom. To take our country to the next century, you, the young people of today, need to be invigorated to participate in the building up of our nation. You need to be part of the solution and no longer be part of the problem.
As the state, we are doing our bit. Former African National Congress President, Oliver Reginald Tambo, once said: "A Country that does not take care of its youth does not deserve the future.” We are doing our bit and want you to do yours.
We declared the year 2011 as the year of job creation. All stops are being pulled to ensure that our employment creation drive is successful, specifically in creating opportunities for the youth. Working with the Industrial Development Zones, Coega and East London, we can proudly highlight that:
- Employment opportunities are being created in the call centres for young people with matric and articulate in English;
- Driver training programme for youth with tertiary qualifications and cannot afford to go to driving school so that they can access associated opportunities;
- Mobilisation of investors to offer bursaries in line with their trade
- In the Coega Industrial Development Zones (IDZ) the four new investors, for instance, Kgalagardi which is to build a manganese smelter, GDF Suwez which is to build a power station, Rainbow Nation Renewable Fuels and AGMES Steal will be targeting youth;
- Successful learnerships targeting youth in partnership with the East London IDZ;
- Launching of the Programme Master Artisan Academy targeting young artisans on renewable energy technology;
- Setting up of the Technology Parks working with universities. The East London IDZ has set up a coach lab where it is instructing students business on agro processing, auto motive technology among others.
In other areas we have the Wild Coast Development Zone that has a potential to also create a number of opportunities for young people. Through the following areas:
- Commercialisation of game reserves with downstream benefits of cultural tourism, hiking trails etc that will benefit young people.
- Wild Coast meander and toll road which will create jobs during construction and opportunities for subcontracting as well other opportunities.
- Kokstad/Mthatha railway line which is under discussion with Transnet also having potential for job creation during construction and operational phases Agro-processing in Mthatha and Butterworth;
- The beautification of towns Port St Johns, Mt Ayliff, Ntabankulu and Ngcobo among others.
The National Treasury is also finalising the regulations on procurement ensuring alignment with the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment and local sourcing of goods.
Having highlighted these opportunities, I would like to highlight that they will remain elusive to most young people if education, a priority of our government, is not taken seriously by the youth. Young people must also focus on the medium and high level skills including the area of research and development.
Lembede‟s message to the Youth of South Africa was: “We are not called to peace, comfort and enjoyment, but to hard work, struggle and sweat. We need young men and women of high moral stamina and integrity; of courage and vision. In short, we need warriors. This means that we have to develop a new type of youth of stoical discipline, trained to endure suffering and difficulties. It is only this type of youth that will achieve the national liberation of the African people”.
South Africa is in a quest for total transformation and reconstruction specifically the economic sector. These struggles as espoused by the National Democratic Revolution are far from over. Absolute victory shall be achieved when the youth of South Africa in their totality are charged and energetic seeing themselves as new vanguards of progressives that lead the struggle for the delivery of the much desired better life to all.
As we will be listening to the our State President, Mr Jacob Zuma, addressing us during the main June 16 event to take place at the Orlando Stadium in Gauteng, let us begin to define our own roles in advancing our cause.
I thank you.
