Hon Chairperson and hon members, 35 years have passed since that fateful, and yet heroic youth uprising that started in Soweto on 16 June 1976. The nation has still not forgotten about either the naked brutality of the system of apartheid, or the remarkable heroism and extraordinary courage of all those that fought against the system - young and old, male and female, and black and white.
It is important that we refuse to forget, lest we expose ourselves to the risk of repeating the errors as well as the folly of the past. We must continue to teach the youth about the supreme effort it took to bring the country to where it is today, so that they reject the proposition of those that demand that we should now forget.
In commemorating such occasions as the 35th anniversary of the June 16 uprising, we must allow the martyrs of the past to open our eyes, as we once closed theirs when they died.
What we should strive for is to use such commemorations to unite our youth, both black and white. Our history, as well as our future, must be occasions to unite and not divide us. In commemorating the historic landmarks of our struggle, the imprints of the past on today, we must advocate a unifying perspective that places high on the banner the collective interests of all South Africans.
These occasions allow us to heal together as a nation, as well as focus our eyes on the challenges facing the youth of our nation. To the youth of South Africa we must say that it is an honour to serve your people and sacrifice in their name. However, whereas in the past the youth often had to die for the nation, today they must live for it.
In paying tribute to the youth of 1976 we are paying tribute at the same time to all the generations of youth, both before and after 1976, that participated in the struggle for freedom. June 16 dramatised the indignation of the youth towards the system of apartheid, and their unwavering faith in united action and the liberating power of education.
Lest we forget, it was in these exact Chambers, through the apartheid parliament, that laws were passed that gave reality to human rights violations, and injustice was made law to give truth to a lie. The youth of 1976 exchanged their lives to uncover this lie and lay it bare before the peoples of the whole world.
The theme of this debate is "Parliament in action: advancing youth development to break the cycle of generational poverty and unemployment". This serves as a constant reminder of the task that we have to perform, of continuing to dismantle the apartheid legacy. The theme places a huge task before this democratic Parliament, the tribune of our people.
We stand here today in this debate, presented with an opportunity to ask ourselves some pertinent questions about how much, both in content and form, we have progressed in delivering the society that Hector Pieterson yearned for as he stared death in the face and his final hour struck.
It is true that Parliament, both the NCOP and the National Assembly, must provide a platform to infuse the realities of our people in law-making and thus give meaning and justification to their struggles. Accordingly, conversations such as this one must help our citizenry, especially our youth, to breathe the energy and robustness inherent in their age to revolutionise the process of legislation and oversight of this sphere of government.
The role the NCOP has played in raising the youth debate in the past is laudable. This House has not been found wanting in its obligation to recognise and acknowledge the historic role of our youth in liberating South Africa. Of course, many among those produced in the trenches by youth struggles are now sitting here as hon members.
In particular, the NCOP continues to work hard in promoting socioeconomic rights as enshrined in our Constitution and Bill of Rights, and issues of youth development have found pride of place and have been placed high on the NCOP's agenda.
Among others, the social and economic progress made by South Africa is outlined in the 2010 Development Indicators, issued by the Presidency. They indicate that real income and poverty headcount indicators show improvement in living standards of the poor, explained in part by rising social grants transfers.
Spending on education has continued to increase, by 16% from 2007-08 to 2010-11, with additional allocations of R243 billion earmarked over the medium term, among others to improve school infrastructure, and increase access for poor students to further education and training, FET, colleges and universities.
Mention should be made of the bold step by the Minister of Higher Education and Training to radically restructure the sector education and training authority, Seta, regime, to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in delivering the skills requisite to the needs of the economy, and also the hands-on approach of the Department of Basic Education in putting under its administration the ailing Eastern Cape department of education.
The percentage of households in formal dwellings has increased from an estimated 64% in 1996 to 76% in 2009. HIV prevalence has been stabilised, mother-to-child transmission has dropped to a paltry 3% and government is at the forefront of intensifying its campaign against HIV and Aids. This gives us a dipstick indication of the performance of policy choices we have made, and the pace at which such are being realised. What it points to is that whilst much has been achieved since 1994, the dream of total emancipation that inspired the youth of Soweto 35 years ago is still worth pursuing, as it is still far from being achieved.
Clearly, urgency is required, especially to reverse the tide of youth unemployment which, according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, has worsened over the past two years. Youth accounted for about 40% of all job losses during 2009-10, as the employment of 15-to 24-year-olds fell by 21,8%. Almost 15 million working-age adults are under 30 years of age, equal to just under half of the country's working age population of 46%.
This situation of youth unemployment has been prevalent since before the demise of apartheid. The truth is that whereas youth unemployment is a result of aggregate unemployment in the economy, it would be total folly to argue that because of this we should, perforce, first create aggregate employment in order to address youth unemployment. This would totally neglect the fact that there are specific conditions in the labour market that create youth unemployment and therefore specific interventions are required in order to create employment for the youth and facilitate their economic participation.
The New Growth Path proposes a long-needed paradigm shift, and places the issue of youth development high on its agenda. Since 1996 South Africa has ushered in youth development institutions and machinery to allow the interface between civil and political society on youth matters. We have ratified the African Youth Charter, and Cabinet adopted the second generation National Youth Policy.
These have been supported by a range of programmes and strategies to empower the youth in the various line functions, such as the following, to mention but a few: the Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP, initiatives that saw young people involved in the refurbishment, rehabilitation, and maintenance of community infrastructure across the country; the youth focal points in more than 60% of government departments, where direct engagement with youth takes place; several departments have established youth development machinery at all tiers of government; learnerships and internships have focused on raising the skills capacity of young people through Setas; and the upcoming launch of the Integrated Youth Development Strategy, as announced by the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA.
It is clear that as a country we have been engaged in finding the solutions to the complex problems facing the youth today. We must occupy ourselves with measuring precisely how all of these endeavours come together to change the face of poverty and unemployment, which continues to be younger, African, rural and female in complexion. It should be done in line with the current trend of outcomes measurement.
We must implore our National Planning Commission, NPC, as it tries to present a vision of what type of nation we wish to be, also to address itself to the situation our youth find themselves in. That must clearly bring everyone together towards a common effort to steer the youth towards economic participation.
This House must find creative ways to factor into its DNA the recommendations made by the Independent Panel Assessment of Parliament, commissioned in 2009, which called for a systematic and structured approach to ensure the integration of youth voices, mobilised through these youth debates and youth parliaments, and provide feedback to the participants.
We must do all of this in order to empower our youth for their historic responsibilities at the head of the transformation of our country, bearing in mind that they are the constructors, inheritors and inhabitants of the future.
The skills required to accomplish this task are vastly and radically different to those that were required to defeat apartheid in the past. For the youth to accomplish these historic tasks, they need education to master new knowledge and science, technology and skills. In that effort, they need the support and contribution of the entire nation. Older generations have taken us this far. To the youth of South Africa we say, a glorious future awaits - pursue it relentlessly! Finally, I would like to wish the ANC Youth League well at its national congress, and congratulate it for continuing to be a preparatory school for young revolutionary democrats of our movement and country. I thank you. [Applause]
Me J L HARTNICK (Wes-Kaap): Agb Voorsitter, agb lede, dit is vir my 'n voorreg om vandag in die Nasionale Raad van Provinsies deel te neem. Die tema van die debat is die ontwikkeling van ekonomiese geleenthede om die jeug te bevorder en te bevry. Die jeug in Suid-Afrika en wreldwyd is een van die belangrikste sektore van die gemeenskap. Dit is waar die leiers van die toekoms besig is om te ontwikkel en om idees te vorm oor hoe om die samelewing en die toekoms meer tegnologies gevorderd te maak, om beter ekonomiese groei teweeg te bring, en om met probleme soos aardverwarming, oorbevolking en besoedeling te worstel.
In Suid-Afrika het hierdie probleem nog ander dimensies. Probleme soos grootskaalse werkloosheid, armoede en gebrek aan ekonomiese geleenthede om as mens en moontlike entrepreneur te ontwikkel, is faktore wat die bevordering van die jeug in die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing kortwiek.
Een van die waarhede in die debat is die besef dat die jeug in Suid-Afrika ernstige probleme in die gesig staar om die siklus van generasielange armoede en werkloosheid uit te wis. Daar word erken dat apartheid 'n rol hierin speel, maar geleenthede moet ook deur die nasionale en provinsiale regerings van die land geskep word om te verseker dat daar nie nog 'n generasie jongmense verlore gaan nie.
Ons gee erkenning aan die rol wat die jeug gedurende die 1976-opstande en die 1980-onluste gespeel het en hul bydrae om te verseker dat Suid-Afrika vandag 'n land is waar geleenthede vry en oop is om ekonomiese bevordering aan te help en daar te stel.
Die Grondwet van die land verskans ook ekonomiese vryhede en moedig alle vlakke van die regering en die privaatsektor aan om die geleenthede daar te stel om ekonomiese bevordering en bevryding van alle burgers van Suid- Afrika te bewerkstellig.
Die fokus op die jeug, as een van die belangrike dryfkragte van die toekomstige ekonomie van die land, moet dwarsdeur die jaar aangespreek word. Daar moet ook gelet word op hoe die fokus geplaas word, en wat werklik gedoen word om die probleme van die jeug aan te spreek. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Ms J L HARTNICK (Western Cape): Hon Chairperson and hon members, it is a privilege for me to take part in the National Council of Provinces debate today. The theme of the debate is the development of economic opportunities to promote and free our youth. The youth in South Africa as well as the youth worldwide one of the most important sectors of the community. This is where future leaders are in the process of developing and formulating ideas on making society and the future more technologically advanced, bringing about better economic growth, and grappling with challenges such as global warming, overpopulation, and pollution.
In South Africa this challenge has additional dimensions. Challenges such as large-scale unemployment, poverty, and a lack of economic opportunities to develop as a person and possible entrepreneur are factors which are hampering the promotion of the youth living within South African society.
One of the truths in the debate is the realisation that the youth in South Africa are facing serious challenges in relation to eradicating the cycle of generational poverty and unemployment. It is recognised that apartheid played a role in this, but opportunities should also be created by both national and provincial governments to ensure that we do not lose yet another generation of young people.
We acknowledge the role that the youth played during the uprisings of 1976 and the riots of 1980, as well as their contribution to ensuring that, at present, South Africa is a country where opportunities are free and open for furthering and realising economic upliftment.
Economic freedoms are entrenched in the Constitution of the country, which encourages all spheres of government, as well as the private sector, to create opportunities to accomplish the economic upliftment and liberation of all South African citizens.
The emphasis on the youth as one of the crucial driving forces of the country's future economy should be addressed throughout the year. Attention should also be given to how the emphasis will be placed, and what exactly is being done to address the challenges of the youth.]
The premier's forum that was launched will address the various issues pertaining to youth unemployment. Each provincial government department of the Western Cape has its own developmental programme directed at the empowerment of the youth through skills development in critically needed areas in the public and private sectors.
The importance of transversal programmes cannot be emphasised enough. Although each department has its own programme, collectively a concerted effort to empower the youth will make the economy viable and enable the youth to contribute to the gross income of the province and the country as a whole.
It is of vital importance that the social problems surrounding the youth are sustainably addressed and eradicated. Adequate assistance with education during the first school years will go much further than assisting learners during Grades 10, 11 and 12. The improvement of education during the first grades will enlarge the grasp of knowledge of the young child, and will eradicate the fact that there are vast numbers of dropouts in the higher standards.
Appropriate social and educational assistance and bursaries will go the extra mile towards helping them and have the desired outcomes, which will provide the necessary critical skills that will enable the youth to be economically viable.
Teenage pregnancy has to be minimised and eradicated if the trend of high unemployment amongst young women is to be stopped. Last year, 7 327 girls gave birth, which effectively places their children in the social grant system. The youth must be given the opportunity to make career choices without the burden of bad life skills choices. Teenage pregnancy keeps the young woman firmly in the claws of poverty and ensures that the legacy of poverty is carried over to the next generation. We need to take stern measures now in order to stop this.
Let us not close our eyes to the dire situations created by gangs and drug enslavement. The skills development initiatives are as critical to the uplifting of the youth as they are to freeing our society as a whole from the social ills that surround acute poverty.
We recognise the fact that the government alone cannot address a problem of this magnitude. All three tiers of government - national, provincial and municipal - and the economic and private sectors will need to combine their endeavours.
We need to constantly remind ourselves of the potentially destructive influence of the youth component in South Africa, of whom almost 51% are unemployed. We need to acknowledge their frustration and hopelessness, the devastating effects of habit-forming substances, and the ensuing crime and violence.
Only one out of two successful matriculants stands a chance of finding a job. That is, if he or she was one of the 364 513 learners who passed matric last year. According to the Fast Facts which was released in May 2011, a staggering 3,3 million young people in South Africa are not in education, employment or training! And it is this group that needs to be targeted so that they can become economically viable in order to take care of themselves and a family financially.
There is an oversupply of unschooled or inappropriately skilled workers and an acute shortage of specific skills to provide for the needs of economically sustainable industries. For that reason, the Western Cape government has pledged its involvement in establishing the necessary skills development programmes to meet the ever-growing needs of an expanding population.
There has never been a time in our country's history when it has been so crucial for a cumulative effort to be made to equip the youth with the necessary tools, such as excellent primary and secondary education, followed by education at outstanding tertiary institutions. We also need to ensure that they have the self-assurance and life skills to empower them successfully in the economic market.
We welcome the forum's oversight position on the type of critical skills that will be needed for the required economic growth and on implementing those skills in the training centres. Through the generation of healthy co- operation between the public and private sectors, the necessary funds and service delivery will stimulate skills development.
We also welcome the strong contingent of youth that will represent the interests of the youth in the forum and believe that a spirit of entrepreneurship will be developed amongst the youth of this province.
The DA will provide the best opportunities for the youth in this province. Thank you. [Applause.]
Thank you, Chairperson. Firstly, I want to comment on what the hon Hartnick has said. She is an honest DA politician because she has admitted and acknowledged that South Africa is underdeveloped because of apartheid. It could be one of the reasons why Madam Zille does not deploy women in the Cabinet - they always tell the truth!
We are debating the theme, "Advancing youth development to break the cycle of generational poverty and unemployment". The claim of the youth to a bright future is unquestionable. Our youth have, in our history of apartheid and hardship, borne much of the brunt of the struggle. For many years under apartheid they were literally and deliberately deprived of a future by a system which kept all blacks in bondage in the country of their birth.
For many young people it meant enormous deprivation just at a time when they would have expected to look forward to a full life. The education system was specifically designed to keep blacks as hewers of wood and drawers of water, as quoted from Joshua 9 in the Bible. The ghettoes of apartheid in towns and cities, and also in alienated bogus statelets called bantustans, kept blacks in conditions which were depressing and hopeless.
The youth of 1976, and the generations of youth both before and after them, were correct to fight without fear for freedom, in pursuit of a South Africa in which all would share in the country's wealth and a South Africa that belonged to all who live in it.
As youths emerged from the meagre training and education that was available, they were prohibited from pursuing many avenues of employment reserved for whites. They grew into a society that was in the iron grip of repression. At long last freedom arrived in 1994, when all South Africans set out on a nation-building expedition in which all the youth had earned a prized place.
Youth development is an integral part of addressing the challenge of postapartheid South Africa. The National Youth Development Policy Framework therefore forms the basis for developing opportunities for all young women and men in South Africa.
The legacy of apartheid has, however, resulted in a large proportion of young people being subject to poor socioeconomic conditions characterised by poverty, poor living conditions, abuse, unemployment and a lack of access to education and recreational facilities. The prevalent poor socioeconomic conditions severely impinge on young people's holistic wellbeing and further exacerbate their vulnerability to peer pressure, substance abuse, crime and ill health.
Chairperson, unemployment and poverty have emerged as major developmental challenges and are, in fact, global phenomena, so much so that poverty eradication is reflected as the number one goal of the United Nations Millennium Goals, MDGs. The number one target is to halve poverty by 2015 and the other target is to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people.
South Africa has a large youth population. About 35% of the South African population are between the ages of 16 and 35. The youth form 70% of all unemployed persons in South African society, which indicates a significant overrepresentation of youth amongst the unemployed.
In addressing the needs and issues of the youth, government has responded in various ways. Among them, government has included issues facing the youth in a public policy framework that shapes and informs a systematic and comprehensive government response.
The Youth Parliament was provided by Parliament as a national discussion platform to encourage the youth through active debates to take part in shaping the country and deepening democracy, with the objective of debating issues affecting the youth, such as economic participation and youth development. It also created an opportunity for the youth to engage in Parliament, the provincial legislatures, the national youth structures and local government.
Although youth development is a national responsibility, all spheres of government, including local government, are involved in youth development by virtue of intergovernmental relations. It is therefore imperative for all municipalities to adopt a youth policy framework. Local government should also ensure that it works very closely with the National Youth Development Agency and with youth offices at each municipality run by skilled young people.
The government should as a matter of urgency consider major investment in education in order to educate and uplift the youth to achieve economic freedom and economic growth. Urgent consideration should also be given to the introduction of entrepreneurial development at high school level. Procurement policies should be biased towards young people and finance made more accessible. Banks should ease their credit requirements.
As we celebrate Youth Month and are optimistic about the New Growth Path, the question is being asked by the youth, and quite rightly so: what benefit will the youth derive from this new growth initiative? How can we ensure that political freedom translates into economic transformation? The answer to this is that it should be ensured that the youth are the largest beneficiary of the R8 billion job creation fund announced by the President.
I would be failing in my duty if I did not pay tribute to the ANC, and in particular the ANC youth, who have sacrificed much and suffered severe hardship and oppression, who know arrest, torture and death itself, who liberated this country and ensured freedom for all, and who also enabled a person like the DA spokesperson, Lindiwe Mazibuko, and her friends to enjoy the same freedom, while they have betrayed the heroes and heroines of the struggle, like Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu, Siphiwe Mthimkhulu, Ephraim Mogale, Tsietsi Mashinini, Sibongile Mkhabela ...
Hon Chairperson, on a point of order, in fact two points of order, if I may: Is it parliamentary for an hon member to accuse another Member of Parliament of betrayal, in the first instance? In the second instance, could you ask the member to refer to the hon Mazibuko as the "hon" and not Lindiwe Mazibuko?
To be honest, on the first part regarding the "betrayal", I did not pick that up. On the second, of referring to the "hon" Mazibuko, who is not a member of this House, I will need advice on whether that has any implications. Therefore, I will not make a ruling now, but in the next sitting I will definitely make a ruling on the matter. Hon Mabe, will you please continue?
Thank you, Chair, I was just about to conclude, and I was saluting our heroes, like Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu, Siphiwe Mthimkhulu, Ephraim Mogale, Tsietsi Mashinini, Sibongile Mkhabela, Joyce Dipale and so many others. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister Gigaba, and hon members, it's a pleasure to take part in this debate on behalf of the youth today. Thirty-five years ago, on 16 June 1976, the students in Soweto started protesting for a better education. Today we commemorate this day as National Youth Day. We celebrate Youth Day as a nation. We can only do this if we as leaders and adults respect each other, respect each other's rights and learn from our past.
The youth in South Africa make up almost half of the population. Many face the reality of poverty, unemployment, crime and social issues in our communities. So what are the problems we face? They are a lack of nutritious food, clean water, housing and health care - all that has an impairing and debilitating effect on poor South Africans, but more so on the youth who cannot grow physically without equal opportunities.
There are so many of our families that are child-headed. We are also sitting with a large percentage of teenage pregnancies.
Better care could be taken of the youth with special needs, especially in the education sector. In South Africa, poor children with special needs have very limited resources, and grow into youth that are not well developed and are dependent on state grants. Opportunities must be given so that these children can be employed, independent, and not dependent on the state.
We need to create opportunities to develop our youth, as they are tomorrow's generation. Where do we begin? We often hear of real jobs, but what are we doing about real education? Without real education there cannot be real jobs. We must be mindful of poverty in Africa, and the fact that it is due to the wrong choices made by the leaders in Africa. Can we afford to make those changes?
The National Planning Commission disclosed in its report last week all the errors in the Department of Basic Education, and all the shortcomings in the outcomes-based education system. It is the subject choices that debilitate our children in their going on to further education. It's either not explained to them properly, or they don't understand what it entails to get the right credits for tertiary education. What does a child do with only a matric certificate? Moreover, has he or she been given the economic opportunity to empower himself or herself?
Sir, 74% of the unemployed in South Africa today are under the age of 35, and therefore considered the youth. If a young person is not employed in the formal sector after school or tertiary education by the age of 24, the chances are that they will forever remain in the informal sector - for the rest of their life. This comes from the National Planning Commission report. It is not I who am saying so.
Economic empowerment starts with education and then employment. We have young groups in this country who seem to be powerful. They seem to be running the ruling party as well, and they are demanding the nationalisation of mines and talking of land grabs. This culture of entitlement is rife. It creates unsustainable expectations. All this is undermining investment security in jobs.
As the DA, we believe that we need to address the wrongs of the past through sustainable economic opportunities, empowerment and participation. Let us all be responsible and accountable for our youth and our future leaders, so that we can change poverty into economic empowerment and growth. I thank you. [Applause.]
Good evening, Chairperson, Minister and everybody.
The youth of 1976 went into the streets of the country determined to fight for their freedom, determined to lay down their lives for this freedom that we enjoy today. I am quite certain that many of them are turning in their graves after seeing what is happening in our country today.
They see desperate young girls and women being used as objects, where sushi is being served on their naked bodies and so-called youth leaders are enjoying themselves, eating from these bodies. Those in power abuse their offices to get rich, to become millionaires and even billionaires. And respect and discipline are slowly vanishing from our society.
The economic landscape in South Africa is dire for the generation under 30 years old. In a South African Institute of Race Relations survey it was stated that 57% of the youth were unemployed in January 2011. Two weeks ago Zwelinzima Vavi, the General Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, Cosatu, warned that unemployment of the youth in South Africa was a ticking time bomb. Mr Vavi was saying this because the ingredients are there for an explosion. Government has been promising to create jobs since coming to power in 2009.
When you look at service delivery protests around the country, who are the people that you see in the front line of these protests? It is the youth! These youth are constantly met by police with teargas, imprisonment and gunfire to suppress the protest.
Cope agrees with Mr Vavi on this point, and urges the government to take this observation very seriously and address the issues of the youth before it is too late. You must never underestimate the patience of the youth.
In 1976 the youth said that enough was enough - they would lay down their lives. Let us not have that situation repeating itself in this country, because the youth of the country will say enough is enough. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Thank you, Chair. Indeed, three minutes is not enough to really debate this very important issue. Fortunately, I'm not like the hon Mabe. Mabe has just heard about 1976; she was never part of 1976. Hon Mabe should learn to understand the seriousness of the youth of 1976. She is sitting next to one of the veterans of 1976 and she must learn from the hon Dan so that she can be somebody, somewhere, some day.
We speak on the youth of today, and we commemorate the 1976 youth, who recognised the inequalities and had the courage to stand up against them. It would be a great pity and an injustice to those who lost their lives in the Soweto uprisings if, 35 years down the line, we could not find sustainable solutions to our growing problem of unemployment, which impacts directly on the economic wellbeing of our youth.
Employment, skills development and entrepreneurial drives should be focused on rural areas, which are often overlooked by government bodies when they are planning youth upliftment programmes. Provinces with rural areas should command equal attention and access to funds and programmes designed to address challenges facing the youth in this country.
A few months ago R100 million was spent on the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA. I think, if we could have split the R100 million among the nine provinces - that is, R11 million per province - we could have done much better in educating and empowering our youth, so that the youth could get somewhere. Education is the only tool to overcome poverty.
Chairperson, allow me to say this. A youth leader should embody tolerance, self-discipline and respect in order to set an example, like Dan Montsitsi, for his or her peers. It therefore concerns us that this Julius Malema's arrogance and disregard for leaders, including the South African President, is being condoned. Why are the leaders keeping quiet while Julius is rude and ill-disciplined? He is a black child; he needs to be reprimanded. He needs to listen to the older people because this ANC that has died for many people was never ill-disciplined and never rude.
Let me just say this one thing further, Chairperson.
Die dapperheid en die opoffering van die jeug van 1976 moet nooit gering geag word nie, want die visie wat hulle aan die dag gel het, het 'n aandeel tot ons vryheid vandag. Die jeug van 1976 is die rede hoekom ons vandag soveel vryheid het. Hulle het 'n visie gehad,en hulle het 'n doel in die lewe gehad. Ek wil dus 'n pleidooi lewer dat ons nie die jeug moet onderskat nie. Die jeug moet ook nie hulself onderskat nie, want dissipline sal maak dat die jeug sukses behaal. Dankie. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[The bravery and the sacrifice of the youth of 1976 should never be disparaged, since the vision they displayed has contributed to our freedom today. The youth of 1976 are the reason why we are enjoying so much freedom today. They had a vision, and they had a purpose in life. Therefore I would like to plead with you that we should not underestimate the youth. The youth should also not underestimate themselves, because discipline will result in the youth attaining success. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Chairperson ...
Hon members, there is a request from hon Ntwanambi. She does not feel well and therefore requests to address the House whilst seated. [Interjections.]
Chair, I agree that she can sit, but on one condition, that she does not attack me! [Laughter.]
I wish you were an issue, but you are not!
Chairperson, I want to dedicate my speech to the fallen heroine and great daughter of our nation, the late Mama Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu, intombi yakwaThethiwe, uMandlangisa, oyintombi yaseXolobe, eTsomo [a daughter to Thethiwe, Mandlangisa, from Xolobe village at Tsomo].
[Interjections.] You see, Chair, there are people here who really distract a person! If you look at MaSisulu, you will see she was one of the most steadfast, dignified and disciplined pillars of our struggle for liberation. She was a devoted servant who served our people with humility until her last moments. She lived an illustrious life of devotion to the struggles of our people. She was the embodiment of the struggle against apartheid and also fought for gender equality in our society. To some of us who took over the baton of the fight for gender equality, the life of MaSisulu represented the embodiment of the principles, values and ideals of the struggle waged by women such as Madie Hall Xuma, Ida Mntwana, Lilian Ngoyi, Charlotte Maxeke, Dorothy Nyembe, Florence Matomela, Rahima Moosa, Sophie De Bruyn and many other women. As we speak about Mama Sisulu, I remember just after her unbanning, she addressed a crowd and said the following.
"Ixesha lala madlagusha liphelile." Kwaye mna ndifuna ukuthi la amadlagusha alibele ukuba ayiselo xesha lawo eli. Endaweni yokuba ngewayemamele umama uSisulu ngokuya, asuka atshela okwentshwela yomphokoqo embizeni. Kaloku ntshw ela yomphokoqo ubangayikrwela imbiza ayisuki endaweni yoko umoshakalelwa yimbiza yakho.
Anjalo ke amadlagusha. Kwaye ke ayexhaphe kakhulu ke ngelo xesha. Amandla wethu babewamfimfitha ude ubone ukuba wena uza kusala ungasenalo negazi eli. Maze bangalibali ngoba nathi asilibelanga kodwa sixolile. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
["The time for the boers has come to an end." I also want to say that these boers have forgotten that this is not their time. Instead of listening to Mama Sisulu, they resisted change. It is very difficult to make people see change, and instead advocates for change will be persecuted and murdered, to the detriment of our country.
This is typical of the boers. During that time they were plundering state resources. They were pitilessly exploiting our labour force. They must not forget, because we have not, but we have forgiven.]
As I look at myself, I am thinking that 35 years ago I was what you would call a Grade 10 student. That shows how South Africa has grown and how the young people of this country, with their spirit of asijiki [no surrender], turned this country into the South Africa it is now. Before I continue - otherwise I will overrun my time - I think I must say that when you have an unholy alliance you tend to lose your morals and principles ... ... okanye uba lixoki ngesiXhosa esiphandle ngoba akubinanyaniso kwaye uthengisa ngesiqu sakho. Amanye amalungu ahloniphekileyo apha eNdlwini kufuneka esebenzele abaphathi babo ngoku yiloo nto engasakwazi ukuthetha inyaniso. Bathetha izinto ezingenamsebenzi nezingazukwakha.
Ndifuna ukuthi Sihlalo, abanye babo balibele ukuba asiyilibelanga into yokuba xa ubeka ityala kwiinkokeli zaseAfrika uze ungalibali ukuba ngoobani abarhwaphilizayo nabasarhwaphiliza unanamhla e-Afrika. Asikwazi ukukulibala oko. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[... or you become a liar, to be precise, because you lack the truth and you have sold your soul. Some of the hon members in this House have to work for their masters and that is why they are unable to speak the truth. They just speak about useless and worthless issues.
I want to say, Chair, that some of them have forgotten that we have not forgotten that when people start accusing African leaders, they must not forget those who swindled and are still swindling African resources, even today. We cannot forget that.]
I also thought that at least the hon member Madam Van Lingen would understand better. I thought she was highly educated and that she had studied sociology, and would therefore know what causes teenage pregnancy. She would be better off with what she knows about. She always speaks on issues of education, so she would speak better on them.
I want to ask again if they can show us - this is to the hon Hartnick now - where they have empowered a particular black woman in this province. I am not saying "African", but any black woman who would say she was a beneficiary of the Western Cape government. We still have to see those.
I am happy that hon Bloem has correctly quoted his own leader, hon Smuts Ngonyama, who said, "I did not struggle to be poor, but to be stinking rich." Thank you very much. [Interjections.] Yes, that is what he said, so thank you very much for reminding us. I had forgotten about that one.
As we speak here today, I want to say that for decades apartheid limited opportunities for women to break the cycle of generational poverty and unemployment. It ensured that women had no opportunities for self- advancement, such as access to education and skills training, which left them to face poverty and unemployment. Where there were opportunities, they were very, very few. You would be a nurse, a clerk, or a teacher; you could not be anything beyond that. In this regard, you could not count more than five medical doctors in the entire country then.
Women in South Africa suffered the ravages of patriarchy, sexism and discriminatory practices, which kept them outside social, political and economic power structures. Young women in general, and particularly African women and those in rural areas, suffered the brutality of apartheid settlement.
It is still estimated that about 60% of the unemployed youth in our country are females. It is also true that if you look at race, you will find that 4,9 million young African people are still unemployed. Although unemployment of Africans in South Africa is consistently higher than unemployment of other groups across the different age groups, African youth face unemployment rates nearly nine times higher than those of other groups.
The concept of a lost generation became a cynical and convenient label for a mass of frustrated, poorly educated and traumatised young people, impatient for change and yet increasingly sidelined and deprived. By 1993, 14% of African young people had primary education only, and only one in every 20 had a degree or a diploma. Over 3 million people between the ages of 16 and 34 were unemployed, of whom a significant proportion - 57% - were black.
What is worrying is that only 5% of school leavers among the African youth with Grade 12 could find employment in the formal sector. It was very difficult. The government's review noted youth unemployment and poverty as matters for serious concern in our quest to break the cycle of generational poverty and marginalisation of our people.
So that I do not repeat what the Minister has said, let me say that I think it would be very wise for our committees to consider the speech delivered by hon Malusi Gigaba, the former president of the ANCYL, who still leads the ANC. He said that we in the ANC have a political school that cooks and prepares people for the future. How I wish others could do the same.
I also want to say that when we look at women, the poverty-stricken women in the rural areas in particular are often financially dependent, have limited access to employment, are unsupported mothers, and must fulfil the role of being caregivers. As a result they have few alternatives and options if they wish to leave a violent situation or even a violent relationship. Moreover, in most impoverished areas in South Africa women have limited access to health, education, and social, psychological and legal services. The result is that there is evidence to show that African women, who are undoubtedly the poorest sector of our society, are more than 10 times more likely to experience an incidence of violence, compared to their white counterparts.
Recent SA Police statistics also show that levels of rape are often highest in provinces which are economically less developed. That is what I was trying to teach you, hon Van Lingen. There are reasons for this relationship between violence against women and poverty. Apartheid's economic exploitation and segregation systematically resulted in much higher levels of poverty for black South Africans and women in particular. A range of factors have contributed to high levels of violence against women in poor areas.
We owe it to those women who suffered the double oppression of poverty and violence to help them transform conditions of dependency and hopelessness into those of empowerment and progress. It is our responsibility as women in this institution to make sure that we educate, assist and further equip them regarding resources to assist them.
It is a pity that I could not really continue with my speech because of time constraints, but I must say that as we approach June 16 in the next two days those of us who were there will remember it very well, and those who were not there know it even better than us, and that is why hon Mabe was the best choice of the ANC. Thank you.
Chair, if ever there was anything that ought to unite South Africans, it is the future of our youth, as well as their empowerment in order to equip them with the capability of constructing and inhabiting the future.
Today our nation's collective wellbeing depends precisely on the careful crafting of our future through our youth. The most urgent challenge facing South Africa's youth is that of economic participation through job skills and economic empowerment, as well as through education.
That education is important needs no further emphasis, I think, but we must say that our nation needs to pay particular urgent attention to the education of the black child who, even today, continues to bear the brunt of the legacy of Bantu education and other weaknesses in our current education system.
The black child, when his or her contemporaries spend between six and eight hours on learning from teaching and instruction, spends about three. We need to pay urgent attention to this so that we raise their level of education to that of their white counterparts and the other black learners who have been fortunate enough to go to historically white learning institutions and even private schools. This means that we have to eradicate everything in the path of black learners that inhibits their right to learning and do all we can together as a society to enhance their opportunities in education.
We also need to urge South African youth to unite against xenophobia and attacks on foreign nationals. The point made earlier today by the Deputy President needs to be emphasised. We must never accept that we can easily resort to blaming foreign nationals for all our woes and all the challenges that we face as a nation, and particularly as young people.
What the ANC Youth League is raising, hon Van Lingen, are issues for debate which do not constitute ANC or government policy. They are issues that the ANC Youth League is entitled to raise, issues that every young person has a right to raise. They are not about entitlement; they are about what policy choices different sectors of our community think are required in order to move South Africa to the next level in our quest for total social emancipation.
Because they are young people, they sometimes raise them wrongly, and sometimes in a disrespectful manner. I should know this because I was once, not so long ago, in that position. But the duty of the elders in society is to hone the youth, to get the youth in line, to tell the youth when they are wrong that they are wrong, and to direct the youth's conduct and behaviour. And I think the South African youth can learn, will learn and will listen.
Hon Bloem raised interesting things. Firstly, he talked about corruption, as though it started after he had left the ANC. We can remind him not only of incidents, but also of names of people that have gone to Cope who can clearly be associated with corruption.
Secondly, he said government had been promising jobs since 2009, but he knows that can't be correct. This issue existed even when he was still a member of the ANC. Conveniently today, and probably out of opportunism, he has chosen to forget that, as though life started in 2009, after he had left the ANC.
The fact of the matter is that between 2001 and 2008, South Africa experienced the most sustained period of not only growth but also job creation. Sure, the number of jobs created was not commensurate with the demand and need in our society but, in reality, jobs were created. In reality, what destroyed jobs in South Africa was the global financial crisis. And in reality, the number of jobs has begun to grow again. But opportunism will never allow you to say this. The challenge that we are facing as a country didn't begin after he left the ANC.
The youth of 1976 were neither saints nor angels, and I think we need to avoid the easy temptation to treat them as though Comrade Dan and his generation were angels who never put a foot wrong.
There is a question we need to ask but, firstly, maybe what we need to avoid is contrasting today's youth with those of 1976 and using the youth of 1976 as a whip to whip today's youth. We should not be saying to today's youth that they are nothing, that they are incapable, and that they can't achieve because they are not part of 1976.
The question I ask, which I have asked before in this House, is how the youth of 1976 would have behaved today, or, how today's youth would have behaved in 1976. Remember that it is not your ideas that create your reality; it is your reality that creates, shapes and moulds your ideas. [Applause.] I would put my head on the block and swear that if you took today's generation and placed them in 1976, they would do exactly the same as Dan Montsitsi and his generation did. The youth of 1976, if they had been put in 2011, would have faced exactly the same challenges as we are facing today.
The challenge for us is never to give up on our youth. The challenge for us is always to stand up for them, to correct them where they are wrong, to be firm with them, to encourage them when they do right, to allow them to think and express themselves, and to correct that thinking when it is expressed in a wrong manner.
Hon Comrade Bloem quoted Comrade Vavi on youth unemployment. In actual fact, Census 1996 already pointed to the fact that 70% of all unemployed people were youth. I remember this, as I was the President of the ANC Youth League at the time. In 1996 we raised the challenge of youth unemployment as the biggest challenge facing the youth of our country and facing South Africa itself. So, nothing new is being raised. When people who are sleeping wake up and realise that there is a problem of youth unemployment, it can't be treated as though what they are saying is right just because somebody in Cope thinks that they are right. [Interjection.] No, no! It is you who think they are right.
Now, this problem is not new, and I think we need to address it with the urgency it deserves. Again, it is a challenge that needs the nation to unite.
The ANC does not fear the youth, nor do the youth think the ANC is the enemy. Were that the case, we would not today be enjoying the overwhelming support of the South African youth, as we do. [Interjections.]
Even as the youth raise the particular challenges they face, they are clear that this is what they want government to address.
The sushi episode has been condemned by everyone, and I don't think we need to hang on to it as though it were the end of our country. It was demeaning, it was embarrassing, and we condemned everyone who participated in it but, Chairperson, life goes on. That episode represented neither the youth of the ANC, nor the youth of South Africa as a whole.
Finally, I think the obsession with the President of the ANC Youth League really doesn't help us to take this country forward. He is not all that happens in South Africa. He doesn't try to be all. He may be outspoken, but we all were at one stage or another. If you were not, you have lost out on your youth! [Interjections.] I know, because I was once in that position. When you speak, you speak your mind. When you speak, you say what comes into your mind and you will be corrected later. [Interjections.] But the obsession with Julius Malema doesn't take South Africa anywhere. [Interjections.]
I think the people who are obsessed with him must start asking pertinent questions about youth development in the provinces and municipalities led by their own parties. We are not obsessed with Madam Helen Zille. We are not obsessed with Madam Patricia De Lille and the fact that she has hopped from the extreme left to the extreme right in one lifetime. [Interjections.] We are not obsessing about it, so get over Julius Malema. Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Order, hon members! There are two quick announcements. One is that there is transport available to ferry members to their villages after the sitting. The other is an invitation by the Department of Public Works to a dinner at the Old Assembly restaurant.
I remind members that the House sitting starts at 10:00 tomorrow morning.