NYDA Quarter 3 2020/21 performance, with Deputy Minister

Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities

23 February 2021
Chairperson: Ms C Ndaba (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Audio: NYDA Quarter 3 2020/21 performance 

The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) briefed the Committee on its quarter three performance report for the 2020/2021 financial year. The meeting took place on a virtual platform. The Chairperson commended the NYDA and the Department of Basic Education (DBE) on their job placement initiatives. The Ministry was happy to announce that the President acknowledged the collaborative work of the departments on creating economic opportunities for young people. The NYDA continues to function operationally and all its branches and centers are opened. The NYDA was able to meet 18 of its targets in quarter three: two targets were not met, and five targets will be achieved in quarter four. The NYDA successfully disbursed grant funding, relief funds and job placements to a majority of young people and this varied by their age, gender, location, and job placement sector. The NYDA was affected by a R14-million budget cut but reshuffled its expenditure programs and was able to spend 86% of its budget expenditure. The NYDA was audited and faced with 13 findings, three of which are not yet resolved.

The Committee was deeply concerned about the executive position vacancies in the NYDA and wanted to know how soon the Agency would address this. The Committee commended the NYDA on its good work and ability to meet certain targets in quarter three. The NYDA outcomes demonstrated positive numbers for grant funding, relief funds and job placements. The spatial distribution of the funding and job placements were however questioned by some Members. How well is the NYDA ensuring communication with all its constituencies from urban and rural areas? Members also questioned the inclusivity and support for young persons with disabilities and young entrepreneurs in the informal business sector. Members were interested in the working dynamics and collaborations of the NYDA with other entities. Most Members were keen on the developments made in quarter three from the previous quarter two report. Is there a monitoring and evaluations system in place to ensure that young people are benefitting from the economic recovery plan? Members asked about the NYDA’s plan to achieve the request made by the Minister of Small Business Development. There was a misunderstanding around the appointment of provincial boards for the NYDA. Overall, there was a consensus to advise the NYDA and the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) on different ways to address youth unemployment and maximise on economic empowerment for the young people.

Meeting report

Opening Remarks by the Chairperson

The Chairperson welcomed all Members of the Portfolio Committee, the Department of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). She commended the NYDA for enabling the access of information and opportunities to young people, and the DBE for the deployment of young people in schools. The schools have taken in both graduate and non-graduate persons; however, some Model C schools have resisted employing these young people. She asked Mr Waseem Carrim, Chief Executive Officer: NYDA, to address this issue. There were two apologies, and the agenda was read.

Deputy Minister’s Remarks

Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize, Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, said that the purpose of the meeting was to present to the Committee the quarter three performance and financial report of the NYDA. She said that the country was still battling with the Covid-19 pandemic and this has shown in the economic recovery plan. The pandemic has worsened the high youth unemployment rate and therefore young people must work harder. The country has just emerged from the second wave pandemic, with lifted lockdown restrictions. Surprisingly, the tax revenue improved in December 2020. The National Income Dynamics Studies (NIDS) reported that there were over 2.8 million jobs lost, and 2.1 million jobs have now been recovered. Healthcare workers are receiving the first batch of vaccinations. Considering youth empowerment, the vaccine roll out will also present employment opportunities for the youth.

In the State of Nation Address (SONA) 2021, the President acknowledged the work of the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) and the NYDA in providing funding to 1000 youth entrepreneurs in 100 days. The President further committed to the development of a National Pathway Management Network for the youth of South Africa. The NYDA will present information on its support for young entrepreneurs.

The NYDA is making submissions for phase two of the economic recovery plans and the employment stimulus. It expects a further announcement in this regard from the Minister of Finance in the budget speech. The Department continues to support the work of the NYDA, and an Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) has recently been appointed to strengthen the governance of the agency.

Youth unemployment remains a national crisis which demands innovative and coordinative solutions. Many young people will resume their search for work this year. The Department and NYDA must facilitate, monitor, and enable young people economic opportunities. This will be critical for the economic recovery plan as a country.

NYDA quarter three report 2020/21

Mr Carrim presented the NYDA’s Quarter Three Report for 2020/2021. He told the Committee that the NYDA is functioning and operating on a 50% rotational capacity. All NYDA branches and centers are open to the public. The Youth Micro Enterprise Relief Fund (YMERF) was developed as a response mechanism to Covid-19 and has approved 1144 application funds. The Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) was focused on the development of the SAYouth.Mobi. SAYouth.Mobi is a data-free platform where young people create a profile for themselves and get connected to economic opportunities nearby.

He briefed the Committee on the quarter three performance summary between the periods of April to December 2020. The NYDA had 25 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of which 18 targets were met, five targets are due in Quarter Four and two targets were not met. There were a total of 2 074 grants given to NYDA beneficiaries in various sectors such as agriculture, construction, arts and culture, engineering, services, hospitality, ICT, retail, and manufacturing. Whilst the sectors funded by the relief fund included: construction, media, entertainment, hospitality and tourism, ICT, manufacturing, retail, farming, service, and transport and logistics. The health and beauty, and engineering sectors had the least recipients whilst the services sector had the highest performance. By the end of quarter three, for both grants funding and the relief funds, males received more grant funding than females. The grants funding was largely consumed by young people between the ages of 31-35, followed by ages 26-30 and lastly ages 18-20. All the provinces received grant disbursements, but the Western Cape, North West, Free State and Northern Cape received the least disbursements. The relief funds were also distributed to all provinces but was least received in KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Mpumalanga.

By the end of quarter three, young people were given job placements in the following sectors: retail, sales and marketing, government agencies, private sector, government, agriculture and farming, construction, training and development, food hospitality, education and skills and infrastructure. The most job placements were made in government departments, private sector, health sector, and government agencies. Young people between the ages of 21-25 received more job placements, followed by ages 26-30, ages 31-35 and lastly ages 18-20. The females received more job placements than the males. The two provinces with the highest job placements were Gauteng and Northern Cape.

Mr Thami Mkhwanazi, Chief Financial Officer: NYDA, briefed the Committee on the financial information for quarter three 2020\2021. The NYDA was affected by the R14-million budget cut. This led to a budget reviewal and reprioritising of program expenditure. As a result, the NYDA was able to sustain 2% of its revenue and used 86% of its expenditure in quarter three. A big portion of money was taken from the administration and overheads expenditure and reallocated to grants and voucher disbursements. r16.5 million was spent on donor funds, and these expenditures will occur in quarter four because the transfer of these funds usually happens during quarter two and three. There were no changes to the Covid-19 expenditure from the previous quarter two report because the stock procured and reported in quarter two was enough to be carried over into quarter Three. 41% of the Covid-19 expenditure procurement was spent on black-owned-only enterprises, 36% on youth-owned enterprises, and 23% on youth and women enterprises. Altogether, black-owned companies were at 96%, whilst companies owned by other races were 4%.

Mr Mkhwanazi also took the Committee through the year-end external audit findings follow-up report for January 2021. There were 13 findings, and only three of these issues in this report have not yet been resolved. It was found that some Committees did not comply with the charters, due to the absence of board members. The second finding was that policies were not regularly reviewed. The NYDA has however started with the policy reviews in Quarter Four and hopes to resolve this by 31 March 2021. These delays were caused by Covid-19, and the audit review ended in October 2020 when the NYDA was already in quarter three. The last finding was the inadequate access of controls on the GP System. This was because the NYDA is waiting upon the implementation of the Enterprise and Resource Planning (ERP) Software System which will replace the GP system.

See presentation for further details.

Discussion

The Chairperson was concerned about the executive position vacancies in the NYDA. The Committee would like to know whether it will be practical for the NYDA to achieve the targets set in quarter four. How will the NYDA mitigate around these unfilled vacancies to work and achieve its targets? The Committee was concerned about why the chairperson of the ARC did not attend the last meeting and the reason(s) for this were not provided. Was it a wise decision to appoint this committee to serve the NYDA? What is the working relationship between the NYDA and the ARC?

Ms T Masondo (ANC) commended the work of the NYDA. She said that the responses to the NYDA were positive because youth members received funding, and training for agriculture in Mpumalanga with Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) services in December 2020. She asked the following questions: Has the YMERF made a difference to the 1144 youth entrepreneurs who secured the R11.8 million funding? How has the NYDA responded to Ms Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister of Small Business Development, who recently challenged the agency to support at least 15 000 business startups by the year 2024? What progress has been made in the development of the SAYouth.Mobi since quarter two? How is the NYDA giving effect to the economic recovery plan based on its contributions? How is the NYDA monitoring the extent to which the young people benefit from the economic recovery plan?

Ms N Sharif (DA) appreciated that the NYDA reached 75% of its targets but said that the Committee will expect more going forward. How will the NYDA secure R45 million in funding to support the Youth and Development Programme (YDP) in quarter four? What progress has the NYDA made since it agreed to the DA proposal of using the Hemp Industry to create economic opportunities? What is the working relationship between the NYDA and the South African Youth Council (SAYC)?

Mr L Mphithi (DA) thanked the CEO for working with him to assist some young people who were still in the waiting line to secure the relief funds. Some young people do not have the resources to open a bank account or register at the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). As such, many young entrepreneurs experience economic exclusion. What type of planning has been made towards supporting businesses and young entrepreneurs in the informal sector? Apart from posting the NYDA Amendment Bill on NYDA social media platforms, what other type of engagements and inputs did the NYDA have on the Amendment Bill? How did the NYDA ensure that every young person (even those in rural areas) received information of these engagements and inputs? The same applies to the National Youth Policy (NYP). What attempts have been made, and what attempts will be made to ensure that all young people receive the necessary information and communication with the NYDA? (As most interactions are now online). He said that the targets in the presentation were sufficiently covered but emphasised on the need to engage with the young people. The stakeholder element of the NYDA is fundamentally important because a lot of comments and inputs are required from young people who should be given an opportunity to contribute to the discussions. In the past three quarters, 2.8-million jobs have been lost. What plans does the NYDA have to tackle youth unemployment?

The Chairperson asked for Dr Bernice Hlagala, Chief Director: Youth, DWYPD, to also respond to the question of how the NYDA plans on addressing youth unemployment.

Ms F Masiko (ANC) requested that the NYDA brief the Committee on the nature of support it gives to small businesses. She acknowledged that the NYDA funded 1000 jobs in 100 days but stressed that it was important to conduct follow-ups and give the necessary support to the youth-owned businesses. Has the NYDA considered the challenge made by Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni?

She asked what developments have been made towards the PYEI and the SAYouth.Mobi since quarter two. She suggested that the Committee should be included in the consultation of stakeholders on the NYP. The Department was requested to give a detailed time framework from inception until implementation of the NYP in the last meeting. What is the progress of this timeframe? The Department was also requested to submit a report on the number of young people who applied for land released by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. What is the progress of this report? Persons with disabilities mostly feel secluded from economic opportunities. How have people with disabilities benefitted from the various programs and funds of the NYDA?

Ms N Ntlangwini (EFF) indicated that she was a first-time attendee to the Committee and welcomed the inputs made by the NYDA. What are the immediate plans to ensure that the job vacancies in the NYDA are filled? The job placement slides in the presentation indicated that some sectors and areas were not covered. What is the NYDA doing to ensure that there are job placements within the sectors and areas with little traction? The Covid-19 expenditure pie chart in the presentation showed that 96% of the businesses were black-owned companies and 4% for other races. How much capital was invested in the 96% of black-owned companies? She requested that future presentations should be narrowed down to the exact amount of money black entrepreneurs received.

The Chairperson asked the CEO to also indicate who was monitoring the new businesses that the NYDA recently funded? The CEO is not authorised to fill the vacancies alone. Can the Deputy Minister and the Department indicate what plans it has to help fill in the NYDA vacancies?

Ms A Hlongo (ANC) spoke of how Covid-19 affected many businesses. Do the young entrepreneurs stand a chance of being funded again if their businesses recently closed? How is the NYDA giving effect to the economic recovery plan based on its contributions? How is the NYDA monitoring the extent to which the young people are benefitting from the economic recovery plan? What progress has the NYDA made with the release of state land, training of youth and agriculture, and the YMERF since quarter two?

The Chairperson asked the Department and the NYDA to share the challenges the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) was experiencing.

Ms P Sonti (EFF) commented on the vacancies in the NYDA and the targets not met. How did the NYDA function in the absence of board members? How will the NYDA ensure that the youth members are central to the job placements process? She encouraged the NYDA to not forget the young people in rural areas. She also said that she noticed that some youth projects were driven by political interests because some young people did not receive jobs, simply because they did not belong to certain political parties and asked for this to be addressed.

The Chairperson urged the Members to always approach the NYDA for assistance with pertaining issues. She also advised Ms Sonti to first verify any information which she receives. The Chairperson appealed to the Members to ensure that young people in their constituencies (especially rural areas) were indeed being employed by the DBE job placement initiative.

Ms T Mgweba (ANC) welcomed the report by the NYDA and its ability to work under these difficult times. She noticed that the presentation did not indicate anything about grants being given to persons with disabilities. Is there a profiling of youth-owned businesses by persons with disabilities? Is there a timeframe to resolve the ICT challenges encountered, to prevent a backlog of achieving targets? How is the NYDA monitoring and evaluating the deployment of young people in all the schools (urban and rural areas) to ensure that these young people secure permanent employment? The Chairperson asked for the Department to answer this question as well.

Mr S Ngcobo (DA) wanted to know whether the NYDA would be able to support 1768 young people with business consultant services in quarter four to meet their annual target. What does the document on the Higher Education Youth Service Program (HEYSP) entail and which stakeholders were consulted? He also wanted to know whether the NYDA would be able to facilitate 1 621 jobs through job placements in quarter four (which is almost double its target per Quarter). Can the NYDA indicate to the Committee how many persons with disabilities benefitted from its funding and programs? He requested for the NYDA to always give a breakdown of the number of young persons with disabilities who benefit from their programs; and not just use an age and gender-based scale.

Responses

Mr Carrim thanked Members for their inputs and said that he would also seek advice in his responses.

Mr Carrim confirmed that the Agency did not fill the executive vacancy posts due to the budget cut. He also sought legal counsel or advise from the Committee on how to appoint executives in consultation with the board (which was absent in this case) as stipulated in the NYDA Act. He spoke of how the NYDA was expected “to do more with less” even after the Minister of Finance would have illustrated the public sector wage bill.

The NYDA pulled together as a managerial team and took on more work to ensure that the targets were met despite the absence of some executive members. He said that the NYDA was working on “catch-up” plans to ensure that all targets are duly met.

Mr Carrim explained that his role as a CEO became conflicted and an ARC needed to be appointed. The ARC came into effect in November 2020 and was inducted in December 2020. He suggested that the ARC chairperson should accompany him to the next Committee meeting to provide clarity on its role as a governance structure.

The Chairperson asked Mr Carrim to indicate whether he was satisfied with the arrangement of the ARC.

Mr Carrim said that he was happy because it was the best arrangement made under the circumstances. The ARC has provided support, and Dr Hlagala and Mr Mkhwanazi are also granted seats on the ARC.

Adv Mikateko Maluleke, Director-General (DG), DWYPD, added that the Department had to make an application to National Treasury and the Auditor-General for the approval of ARC to assist the NYDA.

NSFAS will grant applications to students who applied last year. Mr Carrim offered the Members to escalate any issues pertaining to NSFAS to him and that he would ensure that it was passed on to the relevant authority at NSFAS. The budget cuts affected NSFAS and this was reflected in the verified NSFAS letter which stipulated that it was no longer going to fund some diploma qualifications as well as teaching and nursing qualifications. He said that the NYDA and the Committee had to be aware of these long-term effects of the budget cuts.

Mr Carrim responded to Mr Masondo and said that the NYDA has been receiving letters from young people who expressed how the funds have helped their businesses. The presentation also indicated that there were jobs created and sustained because of the YMERF. The NYDA has implemented a comprehensive monitoring and evaluations report of the YMERF. The report will indicate both the positive and negative impacts of the YMERF and is expected to be published by the 31st of March 2021.

The NYDA is consulting with the DSBD and Presidency on how to fulfill the commitment of Minister Ntshavheni. The NYDA expects to present this plan to the Committee with the Annual Performance Plan 2021/2022; the remaining strategic plans for the medium-term Strategic Framework; and the targets for the Youth Employment Intervention Plan (YEIP).

Mr Carrim responded to Mr Mphithi saying that the NYDA was trying to drive young people towards the SAYouth.Mobi site. The NYDA, in collaboration with the DSB and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) are helping small businesses become sustainable. The small businesses enjoy the benefits of the CIPC and UIF. The strategy here was to engage the informal sector with the formal sector to have more access to structured support and the government and private sector. Informal businesses should be enabled equal economic opportunities.

The NYDA Amendment Bill was a very important process. The NYDA did not lead this process but was a collaborative function which offered support to the Department. The NYDA submitted formal inputs to the NYDA Bill before the closing date and made presentations to many civil society organisations, political organisations and businesses. These presentations widened the NYDA Bill Process. The NYDA also used various social media platforms like a WhatsApp support line to assist the constituencies.

Mr Carrim encouraged Mr Mphithi to look at the SAYouth.Mobi site because there was engagement with young people in the country. Last week, the platform became a zero-rate platform and thus allowing access for all young people.

NIDS reported that 2.1-million jobs were restored out of the 2.8-million jobs that were lost. Youth unemployment remains high, and the solutions include using the SAYouth.Mobi platform; support the township and rural economy through the DSBD and public employment; a revitalised National Youth Service; and skills development for fast growing industries like installation and repair maintenance etc.

Mr Carrim responded to Ms Masiko and said the NYDA did provide aftercare support (mainly with access to the market) to the businesses for two years.

Mr Carrim said to Ms Masondo that the NYDA was working with the DSBD and will meet next week to finalise how they will reach the target of starting up 15 000 enterprises.

He apologised for not reporting on the young people with disabilities and will ensure that it is included in the next Report. The NYDA did adhere to the government target of seven percent of all products and services being offered to persons with disabilities. He said that the NYDA also supported people with disabilities better by collaborating with organisations like Deaf SA, and Disabled Youth SA etc. to help them build constituency support for the work they do so that persons with disabilities have ample opportunities.

Mr Carrim told Ms Sharif that the NYDA was working on three major projects with European Union, The United Nations Development Program and SETA, in the pandemic. He said that hemp was classified as a prohibited agricultural plant and that one would need to obtain a permit from the Department of Health to produce it. The NYDA aids young people who may want to participate in the hemp industry with applications.

The Chairperson said that the NYDA and the Department should do a follow-up and ensure that the young people get the hemp licenses which they applied.

Mr Carrim said that the NYDA had a relationship with the South African Youth Council (SAYC) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) since the inception of the first board of directors in 2009. The SAYC has a seat at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) and represents the youth sector. In 2009, a decision was taken that the NYDA would provide office space to the SAYC at no charge and this agreement has remained in place.

Mr Carrim said to Ms Ntlangweni that the NYDA was working with other sectors through existing relationships with NEDLAC and the Premiers to organise business and labour for young people.

Mr Carrim said that he would ask Mr Mkhwanazi to address the questions regarding the Covid-19 expenditure.

Mr Carrim told Ms Hlongo that business enterprises which wanted to restart were welcome to re-apply for the relief funds.

He told Ms Hlongo and Ms Masondo that the economic recovery plan was crafted by the Presidency with input across governments and that the NYDA makes input on behalf of the youth. Between March and October 2020, the economic recovery plan showed that the DBE took R7-billion out of the allocated R12-billion and R300 000 benefitted the youth programme. More programmes benefitted from these funds such as small-scale farmer agriculture for young people; the extension of Social Distress Relief Fund benefitted 2-milion people; and the Department of Social Development deployed many young Early Child Development (ECD) workers. He said that the NYDA supported youth and agriculture at three levels: private sector, public sector, and skills development for young people.

The Chairperson said that the Committee wanted to see the NYDA and the Department have a campaign that would help young people participate in agriculture and understand the opportunities in the industry.

Mr Carrim replied that the NYDA and Department would arrange a big campaign on agriculture.

He said that there was an MOU signed by Rural Development, Land Reform and Agriculture; the Department, and the NYDA. The Standing Committee directs efforts at agriculture to ensure that women and persons with disabilities are well represented.

Mr Carrim told Ms Sonti that the NYDA operated without the board and that he received support from the Department and Ministry. An ARC was appointed to strengthen the governance of the NYDA. The Committee also provides support to the NYDA through the ongoing briefings.

He said that the NYDA remains focused on achieving the targets which it failed to achieve. There are catch-up plans in place and he strongly believes that the Quarter Four targets will be met especially if we move out of the lockdown. 

Mr Carrim agreed with Ms Sonti that the NYDA should be fully accommodating of every young person. Every Government Department, civil society, private sector should have youth focused programmes too. The SAYouth.Mobi app has a directory of every near place where a young person can receive a Government service like a SASSA office, NYDA office, a public library, college etc. He said that the NYDA publicly released the names of the 1000 businesses and YMERF during the webinar with the DSBD for transparency.

He told Ms Mgweba that the DBE youth job placement programmw recruited young people through the SAYouth.Mobi platform. In the first month, November 2020, 285 000 of the 300 000 young people received their stipends. In January 2021, 300 000 employees received their salaries. This programme was even supported by the teacher’s union. The SAYouth.Mobi allows the NYDA to communicate with young people and they fill in surveys of their experiences. This is a real-time feedback and monitoring and evaluations system in place.

Mr Carrim told Mr Ncgobo that the NYDA would be able to meet quarter four targets of the business consultancy services when the lockdown restrictions are lifted and there is an availability of staff. He said that the NYDA consulted NSFAS, Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) as well as the student representative organisation in the Higher Education sector.

Mr Mkhwanazi said that the 96% of black-owned businesses was calculated on values and not the number of individuals. In value, out of the R1.3-million, R1.2-million was allocated to the 96%. He said that this will be properly demonstrated in the next report.

Adv Maluleke said that the NYDA could not fill the vacancies because National Treasury cut funds from the compensation of employees. She said that the Department was working on signing an MOU with the DHET. She said that NSFAS reported that it was dealing with a high number of applications and that certain diploma qualifications would no longer be funded because of the budget cuts.

The Chairperson said that the Department and the NYDA need to indicate which qualifications NSFAS will no longer fund, and this must be clearly communicated to the students.

Adv Maluleke thanked the Chairperson for her input and said to fulfill it.

Dr Hlagala acknowledged the Chairperson’s suggestion to have a big agriculture awareness campaign. She said that the Department had a meeting with female student leaders to form a joint Programme of Action to assist to profile the work of the Department. She said that this would help young people take stem subjects for agricultural technology and participate in hemp careers. She confirmed that was a MOU collaboration with the Department, and the Department of Agriculture and Land Reform. Tomorrow will mark as the first hearing committee meeting and the concerns raised by the Committee today will be shared in the meeting.

She said that they were busy with the consultation process of the NYDA Bill. The NYDA Amendment Bill was also electronically circulated at youth focal points at government level, provinces, and the database in civil society and private sector. The Department and the NYDA have formed hybrid virtual and physical sessions with the stakeholders. There have been a series of webinars with most of the provinces besides Free State and Eastern Cape. The NYDA also received written submissions from youth organisations like Youth Capital and Sonke Justice, Disability Youth SA etc. The NYD has joint development sessions with the NYDA. She said that she noticed support for the cabinet minister to be in executive authority for the NYDA, even though the executive authority should be the President.

Dr Hlagala said that persons who turn 35 before the expiry of their term should seize to become a board member.

She said that there seemed to be contestation with the duration of the board, as it should be extended from three to five years. She said that the Department would assess this to consider what information should be put into the draft bill before processing it for cabinet in Parliament.

The Chairperson asked Dr Hlagala to clarify the misconception of members wanting to include representatives from all provinces when appointing the board of the NYDA.

The Dr Hlagala responded and said that she thinks the sector has now understood that the NYDA is a National entity and not a provincial entity.

She told Members that the NYP was already a cabinet approved policy. She announced that the Department and NYDA will be launching the National Youth Policy 2030 on 5 March 2021.

Dr Hlagala said that the Department was developing a monitoring and evaluation system with high level indicators like employment. The system will monitor and collect data on young people in high absorption industries like the Energy sector etc. Skills development and collaborations with the DBE; Department of Communications and Digital Technology; civil society; and the three metros Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Gauteng for the artisan project, will enhance the absorption of young people in employment.

Prof Mkhize appreciated the questions and inputs by the Committee and said that it would be implemented in the Departments’ goal planning. She said that youth education and skills development are central for the inclusion of young people in the economy. The President recently received the document on critical skills and was happy with it. NYDA should maximise on the opportunities given to young people and locate them per geographical area and sector.

She said that NSFAS is another opportunity for NYDA to assist. NSFAS usually encounters many difficulties like poor administration, late responsiveness, numerous appeals for rejection etc.

The NYDA should align with the economic recovery plan to create awareness. The NYDA can influence the impact and quality of the jobs young people acquire. She said that the Department and the NYDA will critically look at the job driver opportunities for young people where there is an existing budget.

Deputy Minister Mkhize said that the Department will continue to be vigilant about the issues of persons with disabilities and support the CEO with vulnerable groups in society. She said that the inputs from the CEO, the DG and Dr Hlagala would be revised and improved for NYDA.

She was also frustrated about the confusion around the appointment of provincial boards for the NYDA. She said that the Department would now have to ensure that the policy clearly stipulates that the appointment of the board is not based on the Premiers’ selection but the location of any programs that will be adopted at district or community level.

The Chairperson suggested that the NYDA should also provide sanitary pads to vulnerable groups because it is used by young women. The Committee wants to see the NYDA ensure that young people benefit from the youth projects.

Mr Mphithi said that he did not see the need for a provincial board for the NYDA because it would strain the fiscus for support of youth empowerment. Instead, the NYDA Act, s9(4) stipulates that the NYDA and Committee must have a geographical spread, representative of the whole South African youth.

The Chairperson responded to Mr Mphithi and said that the Members did not disagree with the NYDA Act.

Ms Masondo said that young people who were assisted in her area included a mixture of all persons from different political parties.

Ms Sharif asked the CEO to re-explain the relationship between the SAYC and the NYDA. She requested that the CEO provided the Committee with the signed MOU’s stipulating each organisations’ role. What are the budgetary implications for the NYDA when it comes to the SAYC?

The Chairperson asked Ms Sharif why she was mainly focused on the SAYC because there are many civil society organisations.

Ms Sharif replied that the SAYC is the umbrella organazation for all the youth organisations in South Africa. She agreed with the claim made by the Chairperson that big businesses are the ones receiving the hemp enterprise opportunities. She urged the NYDA to ensure that young people have access to the applications of hemp licenses, access to resources, access to water and hydromechanics to grow the plants, access to lights and greenhouses etc. Can the CEO indicate to the young people how they can contact the NYDA for assistance in this regard?

The Chairperson said that the ICT query was not answered.

Mr Carrim responded to the Chairperson explaining that there was an issue with the service provider, but this was resolved in quarter three.

He replied to Ms Sharif that he would share the MOU between the NYDA and the SAYC with the Committee secretary. There are several ways the youth can contact the NYDA through the access points: the 34 offices, phone calls, through the website and SAYouth.Mobi, and the CEO has shared his cellphone number and email address with the Committee, and anyone can directly contact him.

The Chairperson thanked the Members, the Department and the NYDA for their attendance. She said that the said Committee wishes to congratulate all the matriculants for studying under such difficult times. Well done to those who passed, and there is always a second chance in life for those who did not pass well.

The meeting was adjourned.

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