Cape Town - 160223 - Karima Brown, the executive editor of Independent Newspapers, facilitated a Backchat event at Newspaper House. The event saw Mr Buti Kgwaridi Manamela, the Deputy Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning Monitoring and Evaluation, youth development as well as the Administration of the Presidency, conversing with students. Picture: David Ritchie Cape Town - 160223 - Karima Brown, the executive editor of Independent Newspapers, facilitated a Backchat event at Newspaper House. The event saw Mr Buti Kgwaridi Manamela, the Deputy Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning Monitoring and Evaluation, youth development as well as the Administration of the Presidency, conversing with students. Picture: David Ritchie
Cape Town - “It’s great to be in the presence of such young, beautiful minds,” said Deputy Minister in the Presidency Buti Manamela at the fourth #BackChat session hosted by the ministry on Tuesday night.
The discussion was aimed at getting the inputs of young people ahead of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s Budget Speech today.
Read: What's holding back SA's economy?
“I have a feeling we may get more done and have more lively discussion than in Parliament,” Manamela joked.
The sessions are hosted by the Presidency with a view to engaging the youth, getting their views, and implementing some of the best suggestions.
Young people from a number of youth organisations, initiatives and the youth leagues of political parties were present, as well as representatives of the Treasury.
“I’m sorry I didn’t have time to change into my jeans and All Stars,” Manamela said, “but we ran quite late at Parliament.”
Independent Media’s group executive for news, Karima Brown, facilitated the discussion, which started with robust suggestions about what Treasury could do to boost the economy.
Goetsi Konopi said there was “a lot of money floating around” in the economy that entrepreneurs simply didn’t know how to access.
“During the (Thabo) Mbeki years, the focus was on consumption-driven spending.
“We didn’t invest in production, we just invested in sectors where people consumed.
“What should happen is a financialisation of the economy.
“We should free up the money. The private sector must also unlock their wallets,” he said.
Timothy Oduwole, from the South African Institute of International Affairs, suggested the country should focus on how to tap into its mineral wealth.
“We haven’t found a way to refine the minerals in the continent; we know the economy is not conducive to investing in refineries.
“But we need to produce finished products, not just raw minerals.”
Education was a strong focus of the discussion, particularly in light of the university funding crisis.
“Last year a school was being built every week. That’s never been seen before.
“But, I do agree, more needs to be done to invest in education,” Manamela said.
One of the suggestions was an increase in corporate tax.
“Locally, our corporate tax contributes is 39 percent. Elsewhere, corporates pay 42 or 43 percent tax,” Manamela responded.
In terms of economic growth, Manamela suggested that “there is work, but there are no jobs”.
The sentiment was echoed by Oduwole, who is a student at Stellenbosch University: “I know graduates who have the qualifications, but they can’t find jobs.”
Within half an hour, #BackChat was trending on Twitter, showing the impact the engagement had across the country.
It prompted participant Senzo Hlophe to introduce himself with his Twitter handle, @SenzoWhite.
“We’re focusing too much on employment and jobs, we need to unlock things that will expose people to other alternatives to access their potential,” he said.
He suggested that the school curriculum should accommodate pupils who wanted to follow specific career paths and not “bore them” with subjects that may not necessarily benefit them later.
CAPE ARGUS
Be sure to follow #Budget2016 developments on Business Report as we bring you news, reviews, analysis and opinion regarding Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's speech on February 24 and 25.