KENNETH DIOLE | The ghosts of 1976: SA’s youth front a different kind of battle

This Youth Month marks 50 years since the historic 1976 youth uprising. The state and its social partners rightfully commemorate that pivotal moment.

It remains permanently etched in our country’s history — a time when many young people lost their lives, and many more had their futures brutally stripped away by violence and repressive laws. Their lives and memories deserve to be deeply honoured.

However, the young people of today are becoming part of what may well be another historic youth movement. This modern struggle is not about the language of instruction or apartheid laws but rather the precarious socio-economic reality they face daily.

South Africa’s youth are trapped in an economy that does not work for them, leaving them stranded on the sidelines of economic participation.

This fuels a growing desperation as they confront the triple challenges of unemployment, deepening social tensions, and economic stagnation, compounded by an education system failing to equip them for a meaningful future.

While the rest of the world speaks of a ‘youth demographic dividend’, South Africa stands on the cusp of a youth catastrophe

This Youth Month, the government and civil society must heed the warning signs. These red flags are clearly visible in:

• the mass attendance at public service strikes;
• the staggering queues for limited job opportunities; and
• the worrying data showing a rise in violent criminal activities among the youth.

There are several critical areas that necessitate urgent, systemic intervention.

1. Education and economic alignment

Various data points show that our young people are not being sufficiently equipped to participate in the economy as it is currently structured. Yearly international reports consistently indicate that our grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning when compared to their global counterparts. Furthermore, high dropout levels occur annually from grade 9 onwards.

Those who do manage to finish matric face severely limited spaces in institutions of higher learning, while the few who secure access continue to struggle financially to see their qualifications through to completion.

2. The unemployment crisis

A youth unemployment rate exceeding 60% is not normal. While the rest of the world speaks of a “youth demographic dividend”, South Africa stands on the cusp of a youth catastrophe.

A closer analysis reveals a plethora of systemic failures manifesting from this high joblessness. For instance, Gauteng, our economic hub, and Johannesburg in particular, have lagged behind in per capita public investment by almost 50% over the past decade.

Furthermore, the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises (SMMEs), often touted as an economic panacea, is severely hamstrung. A significant portion of local business income depends on a populace that relies heavily on social grants. This limited spending power stunts business growth and stifles potential employment creation.

3. Social ills and state investment

Social ills like crime are directly mitigated by poverty reduction, liveable wages and broad access to quality health care and education. The state has a fundamental responsibility to drive this necessary growth.

Investment in industrial production will catalyse both economic growth and private sector confidence.

Austerity measures and rigid economic policies ... are proving completely ineffective in growing the economy enough to absorb our latent labour force

Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), the key measure of total investment, must keep pace with inflation and population growth. Instead, between 2018 and 2025, real per capita Gross Fixed Capital Investment (GFCI) collapsed by 22.7%. As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), GFCI dropped from 16.2% to just 13.9%.

Austerity measures and rigid economic policies — implemented with the hollow hope that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will solve our problems — are proving completely ineffective in growing the economy enough to absorb our latent labour force.

4. Social tensions, crime and xenophobia

These deteriorating conditions have manifested in a deeply fractured society. We are witnessing the inhumane treatment of women, evidenced by staggering gender-based violence (GBV) statistics.

Extortion rings target small business owners, while criminal syndicates prey on recently retired senior citizens and grieving families waiting for insurance and policy payouts. Tragically, many of these gruesome, opportunistic acts are committed predominantly by young people trapped in despair.

Furthermore, the country must reach a point where the volatile protests against foreign nationals can be isolated strictly to the legal possession of documentation. Currently these conflicts are fuelled by these exact same layered frustrations over:

• crime;
• the degradation of central business districts; and
• the gnawing pain of joblessness.

The ultimate legacy

One of the most defining indicators of this administration’s legacy will be whether it fostered an economy and a society where young people, the future leaders of this country, were actively enabled and supported through meaningful, structural change.

Decision-makers must hear these pleas and implement immediate, concrete plans to curb this downward spiral.

• Diole is the founder of YT Consulting — a youth centric advisory firm.