Parliament joins the nation in commemorating 40th anniversary of 16 June 1976, urges young people to vote on August 3
The Presiding Officers, Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Baleka Mbete, and Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Ms Thandi Modise, on behalf of Parliament join the nation and international community in commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the 16 June 1976, known as Youth Day.
June 16 was a significant political milestone and a catalytic moment in the evolution of South Africa’s political system – a day when black students from all walks of life, across the country raised their voices and demanded to be heard.
With its epicentre in Soweto, the student uprising marked a turning point in our country’s history. It is to the sacrifices of these young heroines and heroes, the class of 1976, that today we are a democracy and a free people.
The March served as a spark that ignited the intensification of the struggle which ultimately led to the liberation of the country from the clutches of apartheid. As 2016 marks the 40th Anniversary of the march, it remains important that the Legislative Sector pays tribute to sacrifices made by the generation of 1976 and celebrate and recognise their contribution to the successful transition to a democratic South Africa.
Parliament, as part of the nine provincial Legislatures, by its very nature provides a forum for public consideration of issues. It is against this backdrop that Parliament will be hosting a two-day event on 29-30 June 2016 in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The event will be aimed at creating a platform for dialogue between the Youth and organs of State.
It is also aimed at encouraging the Youth to participate in the sector’s programmes and to enable them to influence legislation relevant to their current needs. In pursuit of that, Parliament believes that a collaborative approach by all legislatures in creating platforms for engaging the Youth, will assist with coordinated messaging and further create an integrated and unified approach of processing resolutions and recommendations.
Through dialogues with young people, Parliament hopes to achieve the following during and after the event:
- Deepening democracy
- Inter-generational unity
- Strengthening the Constitution by cementing Sectoral events as platforms for public participation
- Locating Parliament and Provincial Legislatures at the epicentre of societal deliberations
In addition, Parliament hopes to achieve through these dialogues and activities, meaningful participation by the youth of 1976 that can mentor the youth of today. In view of the significance of the Soweto Uprising in South African history, Parliament approached the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to be the host province for the national celebrations.
According to Statistics South Africa (StatsSA), the youth population grew from 18,5 million to 19,6 million between 2009 and 2014. In 2015, the subsequent population growth meant that by 2015 the working-age population stood at 35,8 million of which 19,7 million (55,0%) were youth and 16,1 million (45,0%) were adults. The growing youth bulge presents the country’s economy with opportunities.
Parliament is also mindful of the fact that the National Development Plan (the NDP) recognises that youth plays a very crucial role in the development of the country. The NDP acknowledges that South Africa has a large youth and a working-age population. However, it is this population that is largely exposed to the harsh realities of social ills like drug and alcohol abuse.
Parliament calls on the youth who are registered to vote in the upcoming local government elections on 3 August 2016, to come out in numbers to participate in the democratic process of elections and claim their stake in the future of the country.
