Chairperson, the World Cup soccer tournament is an opportunity for successful teams of various nations of the world to display the talent of their youth. The tournament has undoubtedly become one of the premier opportunities for various nations of the world to display their national unity, cohesion and pride.
The 2010 World Cup takes place in our country, and is the first of its kind on the continent of Africa. This is a moment of great significance and, indeed, it instils in all of us a great sense of pride and contentment to be able to host the world-renowned tournament.
Successful nations invest a lot in their youth because they realise that the youth are the future of every nation. They not only do so in the area of sport, but they do so holistically in the overall development of their youth; be it in education, skills development and training or health. Therefore it is important to contextualise the standard of performance of our national team, Bafana Bafana, as it somehow truly reflects our nation's contribution to the development of our youth.
Naheng ena re theile National Youth Development Agency ho etella pele matsete a naha ya rona ntshetsopeleng e phethahetseng ya batjha Aforika Borwa. Se re ngongorehisang haholo ke hore ha re eso utlwe kapa ho bona mananeo afe kapa afe a thakgotsweng ke National Youth Development Agency a reretsweng ho sebetsa le Fifa ho thakgola mananeo a ntshetsopele ya batjha. (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[In this country we established the National Youth Development Agency to spearhead our country's efforts in the total development of the youth of South Africa. What is of concern to us is the fact that we have not heard or seen any programmes which have been started by the National Youth Development Agency that have been intended to be used by Fifa in order to develop the youth.]
This Parliament appropriates huge chunks of money for education and the majority of the beneficiaries in this regard are the youth. Apart from this, there are other programmes across government from which the youth benefit.
While we recognise this reality, the fact is that there is still a lot to do to enable our youth, who for no fault of their own, were bypassed by development and now need to catch up. We need to be mindful of the statistical reality that the majority of the citizens of this country are both women and young people. These two segments of our society are the most marginalised. Statistics that have been recently quoted in the Business Day are frightening. These statistics reflect that about 2,5 million youth aged 18 to 24 are neither working nor in any kind of education and training - most have dropped out of school early; only 46% of them remained in school long enough to write matric; and only 60% passed. South Africa's rate of unemployment is estimated at 26%, and the youth make up 70% of this figure.
The IFP feels that it is, therefore, important to look at what impact the 2010 World Cup will have on youth development, and whether it will deliver on the hopes and dreams of the millions of unemployed young people of this country.
Youth development remains one of the complex challenges facing democratic South Africa. Sixteen years after the transition to democracy, it is young people who are most severely affected by negative socioeconomic factors such as HIV and Aids, the high level of unemployment, poverty, unplanned pregnancies and a lack of participation in political and economic development processes.
Mothating ona, ka Mohope wa Lefatshe le kamora wona, mekga ya bohanyetsi le mekgatlo ya batjha e na le monyetla o fetang yohle e kileng ya ba teng, wa ho sebetsa mmoho ho rarolla diphephetso tseo batjha ba tobaneng le tsona naheng ya rona. Ho hlokeha sebete le boitshepo ho ntshetsa pele sepheo sa ho netefatsa hore batjha ba naha ena ba nka seabo ka ho lekana moruong le dipolotiking. (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[At this juncture, during and after the World Cup, the opposition and youth organisations have an opportunity more than ever before to work together to bring solutions to the challenges facing the youth in our country. It requires courage and confidence to carry out the purpose of ensuring that the youth of this country take part on equal terms in the economy and in politics.]
Therefore let us recognise that even though there will be some benefit for our youth through the hosting of this soccer extravaganza, we must use this opportunity to utilise the power of football to build a brighter future for our youth beyond the 2010 World Cup.
Ha ke diela dikgala, IFP e lakaletsa Bafana Bafana katleho. Re kgothalletsa batjha ho tswa ka makgalo ho ya tshehetsa dipapadi tsena tsa bolo tsa pele tsa mofuta wa tsona. Dikgomo! (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[As I conclude, the IFP wishes Bafana Bafana good luck. We encourage the youth to go out in their numbers to support this soccer tournament which is the first World Cup in Africa. Thank you.]