ADDRESS BY MPUMALANGA PREMIER TSP MAKWETLA AT THE PROVINCIAL CELEBRATIONS OF NATIONAL YOUTH DAY
Solomon Mahlangu Stadium, 16 June 2007
Programme Director,
Members of the Provincial Executive Council,
Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Our esteemed traditional leaders Amakhosi,
Honourable Mayors and Councillors,
The leadership of the Provincial Youth Commission and the
Provincial Youth Council,
The Director General of the Province, HOD's and all government senior managers,
Representatives of various youth organisations and structures
Distinguished Guests,
Comrades and Compatriots.
Thirteen years into our democratic dispensation, we have gathered again to commemorate the student revolt of June 1976, the watershed of South Africa 's youth month.
One again, we have rendezvoused at many places today as a nation firstly, to commemorate the enormous loss in human lives to our country, inflicted by the inhuman brutality of the apartheid system.
Secondly, we have come to celebrate the spirit and legacy of patriotism and self-sacrifice of the authors of the 1976 events, in order to energise ourselves as we move further into the future in pursuit of a life of harmony and content for our country's citizens.
June 16 accords us as a country a valuable moment to reflect on where this valuable constituency in the struggle for democracy is today, and what South Africa 's popular order has to offer to its young people.
The fight against the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction was a noble cause driven by the quest to advance the ideals of a non-racial quality education for all South Africans. Today we celebrate their exploits in contributing to freedom and the education we enjoy today.
The heroism of the youth of '76 remain an indelible inscription in the annals of youth struggles for self-liberation and self-determination. In the face of the struggles of our times, our responsibility is to evaluate the extent to which our youth today, take serious the discipline and quest for self-advancement in a manner reminiscent of the resolve and determination displayed by the youth of 1976. In the face of adversity, underdevelopment and poverty, we need to ask how today's youth could measure up to the task of emulating and continuing the legacy of youth contribution to the development of our country.
The constituent ingredients of the youth leadership pedigree that our society is nurturing must evince higher values of self-discipline, principled action, relentless quest self-advancement, and selfless service to the upliftment of communities and the poor. We need the youth leadership pedigree that is ready, serious, committed and disciplined to take up opportunities that the benefits of freedom and democracy are presenting.
Self-development through education is one the fundamental opportunities presented by our democratic dispensation to young people to pursue career goals that lead to self-development and make them contribute to the growth of our country. It becomes a major concern when some of our young people opt out of school, and engage in crime and drug abuse that destroy their lives, when all educational opportunities are there for them to take. What legacy would this youth leave for the next generation of young people to emulate?
In the same vein, the struggle for dealing with the burden of disease, especially the ravaging impact of HIV/Aids, requires disciplined and responsible action, restraint and commitment by young people to fight the scourge of the disease, especially among young people. The corollary for inaction, lack of restraint and irresponsible actions by young people is the continued decimation of young people by HIV/Aids. Therefore, our youth should adopt responsible social lifestyles and sexual practices that contribute to preventing the spread of this pandemic.
The messages are clear: Abstain, Be faithful, Condomise. Stay away from crime alcohol and drugs. Crime does not pay. With education, the future of our youth is bright, and you must use all educational opportunities available for self-development.
When young people perish, the nation perishes. To prevent this phenomenon, our youth should muster the spirit and mettle of the 1976 youth to collectively wage a fearless struggle against the burden of disease so that we achieve a dream of an HIV/Aid-free generation. Then, they can deservedly claim to be the architects of the legacy worthy to be respected and celebrated by the young generations to come, in the same way as we extol and celebrate the virtues of self-sacrifice and commitment of the 1976 youth today.
The evidence of the high rate of pregnancies in our schools points to the worrying trends about the nature of poor commitment and irresponsible actions by some of our young people. Given all the opportunities of advancement and skills development presented by our democracy, we cannot afford to have young people who waste opportunities for self-development and contribute to the endless cycle of poverty. If this happens, our celebration of Youth Day today will have little value, as the waste of opportunities undermines the foundational values that underpinned the youth struggles for development over the years.
The plight of youth headed households and vulnerable youth as a result of the impact of HIV/Aids remains major concern to government. As government, it is essential to ramp up social welfare support services to these young people so that we help them pull through distressing circumstances of deprivation. We should ensure that these young people are able access social security grants and all available forms of government support.
The theme of ‘deepening youth participation in development through service' is an inspiring reminder that we should constantly put the youth empowerment issues on the government's development agenda. We need to implement targeted programmes to address the challenge of high unemployment and poverty among the youth of the Province. Of major concern are trends in the recent official statistics which indicate that, in 2006, youth comprised 38 percent of Mpumalanga 's population and accounted for 76 percent of the unemployed in this province.
Central to youth empowerment is the ability to create opportunities for the youth to acquire skills required by the economy in order to enable them to participate in the mainstream economy. As a Province, our work on the recapitalization of Further Education and Training (FET) colleges is intended to offer opportunities for unemployed the youth to undergo training that provides entry into a particular vocation, occupation or trade. In this way, opportunities for self-employment and job placement are created.
We will continue to enhance the capacity of our FET to address the skills development needs of the youth in the Province. Alongside these initiatives is the need for improved partnerships with Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETA's) to increase the intake of youth into various learnerships for workplace-based experiential learning and targeted acquisition of scarce and critical skills required by the economy
Within the context of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of SA (ASGISA) and the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills, there should be a concerted effort to target youth in critical and scarce skills initiatives, and accelerate opportunities for rural youth and youth with disabilities. Partnerships with the private sector companies should be sought and encouraged to contribute to the agenda of youth empowerment.
In partnership with the Department the Province will, in this financial year, commence the implementation of the Scarce and Critical Skills Initiative amounting to R99 million to address a shortage of skills in the economy and service delivery. To a large extent, this project will benefit the youth by proving skills required by the labour market.
Programme Director, the implementation of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) continues to offer the youth of the Province job opportunities and skills development through learnerships. As at September last year of the 2006/2007 financial year, 43 206 job opportunities had been created through the EPWP since the inception of the programme in 2004. Of the 43 206 job opportunities created, 20 307 (47%) went to the youth.
In the current financial year, the Department has recruited 437 youth into the National Youth Service as part of our contribution to the national target. This programmes provides opportunities for the employment of young people on maintenance of public assets while transferring skills in trades such as painting, plastering, tiling, carpentry, bricklaying, plumbing and electrical works. In partnership with provincial departments and municipalities, the Mpumalanga Youth Commission is supporting the roll-out of the National Youth Service Programme.
Programme Director, we must acknowledge that some of the key constraints to youth economic participation are lack of access to information, lack of finance to start up new businesses and limited business development support and mentoring. In addressing the problem of access to finance, the Department of Economic Development and Planning, in collaboration with Umsobomvu Youth Fund, has established three Umsobomvu Youth Fund outlets in the Province. It has further allocated R1.3 million to ensure the effective functioning of these outlets.
In addition, the Department has launched the New Business Finance that assist SMME's in general and the youth in particular to access finance if they are awarded contracts by government. This includes support such as bridging finance and loans for business expansion. With the establishment of the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) outlets in the Province, there is improved business support to the youth on business planning, business registrations, and business management training and support. Opportunities for support to youth business cooperatives should be sufficiently exploited by our young people.
Furthermore, the 2010 FIFA World Cup programme presents immense opportunities for youth employment and participation of youth-owned businesses. There are opportunities in construction, tourism development and hospitality. We urge the youth to seize these opportunities by ensuring that they utilize government agencies for support on access to finance and business development support. The Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency has set aside funding specifically to empower the youth of our Province to get involved in the mainstream of the economy.
To allow the youth to take advantage of business support opportunities, there should be improved communication about the economic development services available to the youth.
Programme Director, youth participation in sports promotes healthy lifestyles and harnesses the youth's energies in nurturing their sporting talents. As a Province, we want to contribute to creating a conducive environment for the development of world-class athletes who would proceed to represent the Province in national and international competitions. Through the Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation, we are promoting increased participation by the youth in Siyadlala and School Sport Mass Participation programmes. Through these games, talented youth is unearthed and nurtured for participation at higher levels.
The greatest challenge that the province has to tackle is to ensuring that sporting facilities and infrastructure is in place in communities so that our youth, especially in townships and rural areas, has access to these facilities for self-development in sport. The municipalities must ensure that these facilities are maintained and kept in usable condition by our youth. We are encouraging the youth to ensure that these public sporting facilities are not vandalized.
Programme Director, as leaders of the future, our youth today should play a central role in contributing and shaping of a society that guarantees safety and security of its people. Youth in communities where they live have a responsibility of exposing the perpetrators of crime against women, children and the elderly. People who get involved in criminal activities happen to live in same areas as where most of our youth live.
Therefore, through cooperation with law enforcement agencies, our youth could play a key role in fighting criminals that continue to terrorize our communities and provide channels for drug trafficking to destroy the lives of our young brothers who get hooked to substance abuse.
We should see increased youth participation in Community Policing For a so that they are able to contribute to promoting stability, safety and security in their communities.
Comrades, our celebration of Youth Day should continue to inspire our youth today to commit to the values of service to the advancement of social development and freedom. We pay tribute to all the young people who sacrificed to contribute to the freedom that we all enjoy. To all the young people who continue to uphold the legacy bequeathed by the 1976 generation, we salute you for your commitment and dedication
VIVA the Spirit of the Youth VIVA
May you all enjoy the celebration of Youth Day
Thank you