The Youth Day commemorations have come and gone but discussions about the plight of youth in this country continue. When the youth of 1976 took to the streets in what would be called the Soweto uprising, they turned about an anti-apartheid struggle that was becoming redundant and galvanised the nation and the world to infuse urgency in pushing for the end of apartheid.
About 46 years after the youth of 1976 made the ultimate sacrifice, the young people of SA are living in the most unequal country in the world according to the World Bank. Twenty-eight years after the democratic breakthrough, the young people of this country have not reaped the fruits of democracy but are living in a socioeconomic nightmare. The youth unemployment rate remains at a staggering 65.5%.
The statement by the government that it does not create jobs will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of many unemployed South Africans. It is clear now that the generous tax breaks and employment subsidies like the Employment Tax Incentive and the Youth Employment Scheme Programme given to the private sector are not working.
To solve this socioeconomic nightmare, government must lead the way by requiring all its institutions at all levels to submit internship plans; each must have a quota per year, at minimum wage level.
Some of the government programmes like the Presidential Employment Programme and internship programmes, which have managed to give relief to unemployed young people, need to be expanded, pay young people a living wage and be provided across all layers of the state.
There is also an urgent need to reform our education system, which has resulted in many young people, in particular from historically disadvantaged communities, falling through the cracks. No modern economy can thrive if of its young people lack literacy and mathematical skills.
Our education system should be emancipatory, gender balanced and feature African philosophies. There is a need to move away from purely academic focus on education, to promote multi pathways, based on individual talents and interests.
With the fourth Industrial Revolution upon us, there is a need to ensure that the free education system in place is sponsoring young people to acquire skills that will allow them to be competitive. Without urgent and targeted action today to manage the near-term transition and build a workforce with future-proof skills, we are likely to continue to cope with ever-growing unemployment and inequality.
Some interventions to deal with demotivated youth include providing unemployed youth with work seekers’ grants to cover their transportation and other costs involved in the job application and screening process. Job application portals need to be exempted from data costs to allow free access to applicants.
Since young people are the ones greatly affected by unemployment, while they represent the majority of the population, it is a travesty that they continue to be underrepresented in decision-making. The increase in young people’s participation in all spheres of government must not just be talked about but needs to be implemented by governments, political parties and civil society organisations.
If nothing drastic is done to address youth unemployment, the July riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng will be a daily occurrence and the rate of crime will turn this country into a failed state.
-Dlamini is a communications officer at Cosatu
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