Speech by Minister of Small Business Development, MS Lindiwe Zulu, on the occassion of the Youth Enterprise Day, Nokaneng, Mpumalanga
On this day 39 years ago, a new chapter was added in the history of our struggle for liberation. This was a chapter that saw young people across the length and breadth of our country occupying the front trenches in the struggle to defeat apartheid.
During this Youth Month, we pay tribute to the 1976 generation for their heroic role in the struggle for liberation. We dare not forget their collective sacrifices and the vision for which they laid down their lives.
That today we are a free nation is in part because of the sacrifices made by these brave sons and daughters of our country. That today we have succeeded in reinventing our country from a pariah of the international community to a country all of humanity is proud of, is partly because of the sacrifices of our young people.
The youth have a critical role to play in shaping the future of our country. Like generations that came before them, what our youth do today will have a direct impact on our future as a nation.
The actions of our youth are the ones that will determine whether or not our vision of a non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa is realised. Their actions will determine whether or not we are able to erode the legacy of many years of apartheid and colonial rule. Indeed their actions will determine whether or not the rebirth of the African Continent becomes a reality.
Twenty-one years since our freedom, the participation of young people in the country’s economy still leaves much to be desired. This is partly a result of constraints and obstacle placed in the way of youth economic empowerment as well as lack of access to information.
As we enter the Second Phase of our Transition, let us boldly assert that the economic empowerment of young people is not an option, but a national imperative. South Africa is a youthful country. The majority of its population is young. The youth (14-35years) constitute 41.2% (20.5 million) of our total population. When we look at the demographics and include children between the ages of 1 – 13 years in the equation, then 77.6% of the South African population is between 1 – 34 years old.
This reality challenges the whole of government, civil society and the private sector to redouble our collective effort to ensure that our future leaders are sufficiently empowered to approach the future with confidence.
Similarly, we must challenge young people of today to seize the opportunities created by our democracy in order to create a better life for themselves and their fellow compatriots.
Let us pause and reflect for a moment on these disturbing and unpalatable statistics: Youth unemployment constitutes 73% of the total unemployment in the country. Employment of young people aged between 18 and 24 years has fallen by more than 20% since December 2008.
The long-term solution to the nation’s unemployment crisis is to create a nation of entrepreneurs and not a nation of job-seekers. While South Africa has an acute youth unemployment problem, it is perhaps important to acknowledge that youth unemployment is a global phenomenon.
Given the current state of youth unemployment in our country, the question is not whether we should encourage our young people to look in the direction of entrepreneurship, but rather, can we afford not to? The current reality is that young people between the ages of 16-35 years own approximately 33% of all businesses in South Africa. About 63% of youth entrepreneurs are self-taught or acquired their skills from spouses (14%).
In addition, less than 2% of the youth entrepreneurs reported tertiary institutions as a source of skills and training. Over 80% of youth owned enterprises are not registered. Both government and the private sector have a responsibility to redouble our efforts in the area of youth economic empowerment.
As a country, we expect our youth to contribute with the same determination that they displayed in the fight against apartheid, towards the creation of a better life for all our people.
Indeed, the best tribute we can pay to the courageous generation of 1976 and to honour their memory is to ensure that we achieve economic freedom in our lifetime. The African National Congress has made a commitment to set the country on a path of radical economic transformation in order to accelerate our onslaught on the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
I have come to Nokaneng today to urge you, our young people, to take know about the economic opportunities that this democratic government has availed to you. My department is determined to promote youth entrepreneurship, youth self-employment and youth owned and managed enterprises, so that they can contribute in the mainstream economy of the country.
My department has a plethora of programmes that seeks to promote youth-owned businesses and co-operatives. Among other instruments, we have established the Youth, Women and Disabled People Business Support Scheme programme is a cost-sharing grant offered to youth owned small enterprises to assist them to improve their competitiveness and sustainability.
The aim is to provide support to youth-owned enterprises in order to increase their capacity to access economic opportunities, enhance competitiveness and improve skills.
This incentive targets youth-owned enterprises with turnovers from R60 000 to R 500 000. In terms of its envisaged impact on economy this funding instrument will assist to create much needed youth jobs as young people will not only create enterprises for themselves, but jobs for others as well.
As government, we see young entrepreneurs as national assets to be cultivated, motivated and remunerated to the greatest possible extent. Entrepreneurs can change the way we live and work. If successful, their innovations may improve our standard of living. In short, in addition to creating wealth from their entrepreneurial ventures, they also create jobs and the conditions for a prosperous society.
Young people must continue to occupy the front trenches in the reconstruction and development of our country. They must continue to be a force for progressive change and radical transformation.
Siyaqhuba!!
I thank you.
