Jobless youth: SA’s future at stake

South Africa’s youth aged between 15 and 34 are the most vulnerable in the labour market. Of the 10.3 million youths, the number of those unemployed increased by 236 000 to 4.9 million in the fourth quarter of last year. About 35.5% were not in employment, education or training.

The same group is the most targeted by politicians who want to either make their way to Parliament for the first time or those who already know the comfort of being an MP.

These grim statistics should confront every politician who visits our communities to ask for votes. They should explain to the youth how they are going to practically change this for the better.

These alarming figures point to a crisis that the ANC-led government is clueless on how to address.

Of course the private sector must play its role. But it has to start from the government creating an enabling environment for business to create employment. With load shedding, we know the opposite is true.

If companies are not retrenching, they are closing permanently because of load shedding and the ANC must take full responsibility for that.

That hopeless graduates, including qualified doctors and nurses, sit at home while staff shortages at public hospitals are often cited as the reason for the long waiting hours is a major concern.

The youth themselves have the power to correct this anomaly. By now they should know that a caring government would not spare any effort to ensure the majority of them are either at work or receive some form of training.

By now they know that not voting on May 29 is not an option. They cannot simply find comfort in the R350 grant that so many of them have come to rely on.

Onyi Nwaneri, CEO of Afrika Tikkun, a youth development and nonprofit organisation aptly sums it up when she says: “Now more than ever, we must take action to empower our youth and end the cycle of unemployment. Together, with the collective will and determination of all the private sector, civil society and government, we can build a South Africa where every young person has the chance to thrive and contribute meaningfully to society.”

Simply put, a country that cannot accommodate the needs of its youth has a bleak future.

Cape Times