Ngiyabonga Sihlalo, ngibingelela amalungu kanye noNgqongqoshe osivakashele namuhla. Besengizwile ukuthi nalaphaya egalari akhona amalungu eKhomishani Yentsha.
UNgqongqoshe ubesekuthintile kancanyana ukuthi kuzoba yini umsebenzi wayo i- National Youth Development Agency. Washo nanokuthi ngesiNgisi uma ngingathi nje ukuhumusha wathi ... (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Ms N F MAZIBUKO: Thank you, Chairperson. Hon members and the Minister who is visiting us today, greetings to you all. I have also been told that there are members of the youth commission up there in the gallery.
The Minister has already highlighted what the functions of the National Youth Development Agency would be. He also said, if I can translate that into English ...]
... that the Bill will provide for the establishment of the National Youth Development Agency, aimed at creating and promoting co-ordination in youth development matters.
Uye wachaza uNgqongqoshe nanokuthi kuzoba yini umgomo wayo i-agency lena ikakhulukazi ... [The Minister also explained what the objectives of the agency would be, more especially ...]
... that they will also look at developing an integrated South African youth development plan and strategy.
Izobuka umgomo kanye nayo imisebenzi ye-agency. Kucaca kakhulu ukuthi sizobe sinanebhodi okuyilona elizobe liphethe umsebenzi wayo i-agency. Angizukugxila kakhulu kulokho-ke kepha kancanyana njena ngizothi ukungena enkulumeni yami. Kuyaye kuthiwe uzoyithola kanjani uhlezi ekhoneni! Lokhu kushiwo yintsha yanamuhla. Ibuye isho nokuthi angeke uyithole. Khona lapho futhi kukhona esinye esiphinde sisho sithi ixoxo nexoxo liyazigxumela, alikho eligxumela elinye kodwa thina njengaMalungu ePhalamende siyazama ukugxumela intsha ukuze nayo ikwazi ukuthi ifinyelele kumathuba angcono.
Kuyintokozo kimina namhlanje ukuthi ngethule phambi kweNdlu yoMkhandlu Kazwelonke Wezifundazwe umbiko mayelana nalo Mthethosivinywa ohlongoziwe weNational Youth Development Agency. Ngethemba ukuthi umbiko ogcwele ukhona laphaya kuma-ATC. Amalungu azozifundela wona kahle engajahe lutho ngoba lo mbiko ubhalwe ngesiNgisi angazi noma ubhaliwe yini nangesiBhunu.
Njengosihlalo wekomidi lesikhashana elalibekelwe ukucubungula lo Mthethosivivinywa we-agency, ngibonga amalungu aye abamba iqhaza kwaze kwaba semaphethelweni siwenza lo Mthethosivinywa. Ngithi kubona ningadinwa nangomuso nani seniyobatshela abazukulu benu ukuthi naphucula izimpilo zabo. Ngokusungula le Youth Deveopment Agency senza intsha ukuthi ikwazi ukuzigxumela.
Ukusungulwa kwale agency kusho ukuthi sizobe sivala uMnyango owawubhekene neKhomishani Yentsha kanye nesiKhwama soMsobomvu, konke lonke kuzoba uMnyango owodwa obhekene nezabasha.
Hhayi-ke malungu okuningi okumayelana nale agency njengoba besengishilo ukuthi uNgqongqoshe uke wathi ukukuthinta, mina ngizokushiya kancane ngingene kule ndaba ebalulukile okuvame ukuthi kaningi siyikhohlwe. NgesiNgisi-ke ngizothi ... (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[It will look at the objects as well as the functions of the agency. It is, therefore, obvious that we shall have a board that will be responsible for the functioning of the agency. I am not going to dwell on that much, but I shall simply focus on my speech. There is township slang that asks how one is going to get it when one is lazily sitting on the street corner! This is commonly said by today's youth. And the youth usually answer themselves by saying that one would not get it. Interestingly, there is another popular saying which says "every man for himself, no man for another", but we, as Members of Parliament, are trying to reach out to the youth so that they can also get better opportunities.
It is a great pleasure for me today to present before the National Council of Provinces the report concerning this proposed Bill, the National Youth Development Agency Bill. I hope that the full report is available in the ATCs. Members will have time to read it at their leisure as this report is written in English. I do not know if it is also available in Afrikaans.
As the chairperson of the ad hoc committee that was designated to consider this Bill, I thank the members who participated throughout the drafting of this Bill. I will forever be grateful to you and you will also have something to tell your grandchildren, namely that you made their lives better. By establishing this National Youth Development Agency, we are encouraging the youth to do things for themselves.
The formation of this agency means that both the National Youth Commission and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund will be merged into a single institution, the National Youth Development Agency that is responsible for youth matters.
Anyway, hon members, most of the things about this agency, as I have previously said, have been mentioned by the Minister, so I will leave them out for now and go deeply into this issue that we frequently forget. In English I would say ...]
... let's take you down memory lane or on the journey that has been travelled by the youth of this country.
Ngesintu siyayesithi geqa izindlebe zakho ulalele sikukhumbuze futhi sikutshele ngomlando wentsha yakuleli lizwe, ukuze kucace ukuthi yingani namuhla nani ningamalungu. Kubalulekile-ke ukuthi niphucule izimpilo zabo, nani ngoba namhlanje nihlezi lapha kule Ndlu yoMkhandlu nje kungenxa yayo intsha. Namhlanje sibuthene kule Ndlu yoMkhandlu simele izifundazwe zethu ngenxa yegazi lezinkulungwane ngezinkulungwane zabantu abasha bakuleli lizwe. Intsha eyayilwela ukuthi mina nawe sikhululeke emakhambandeleni engcindezelo. Namuhla sihlezi lapha eMkhandlwini ngenxa yentsha eyadela izimpilo zayo. Abanye namuhla abaziwa ukuthi bakuphi, abanye babhadla emajele. Phela i-CCB yayingabadlalisi kanye ne-SADF yayiwazonda kakhulu amaqabane.
Kepha intsha yathi ngeke yehlulwe ngamaBhunu. Intsha yazimisela, yabumbana, yawatshela amaBhunu ukuthi azoyikhotha imbenge yomile. Nangempela kwashunqa uthuli. Ngonyaka ka 1976, sonke siyazi ukuthi kwenzekani. Intsha eningi yagcwala imigwaqo, isuka laphaya eMorris Isaacson iholwa ngumufi uTsietsi Mashinini. Yayilwela imfundo ngoba ezemfundo zangaleso sikhathi zazikhiqiza kuphela ama-girl nama-boy awenzelwe abelungu. Sasifundiswa ukuthi sithi "Ja, Baas" noma sithi "Yebo Mesisi". Yingakho intsha yayifundiswa ulwimi lwesiBhunu, i-Afrikaans.
ISoweto yavutha kakhulu yaba ngamalangabi. Kwakuyinto encane nje ukulotha iBhunu, lalazi nalo ukuthi alingeni eSoweto. Konke lokhu kwakubangelwa yintukuthelo intsha eyayinayo. Abanye bethu bagcina ngaleso sikhathi ezikoleni kwase kufika nokuthi sithi: "pass one, pass all" kodwa futhi sasiphumelela kanjalo sonke.
Akugcinanga lapho. Nangeminyaka yawo-1980, intsha yaqhubeka yabamba iqhaza yanisela sona lesi sihlahla senkululeko. Beyithi uma kuthiwa azikhwela, intsha beyiqiniseka ukuthi awekho amagundane anyonyobayo aya emsebenzini. Uma kuthiwa yi-black Christmas, hawu labo abangenazo izindlebe bebewotha ubomvu futhi bephuziswa ne-sta-soft.
Siyazi sonke ukuthi amaBhunu abeyisa kangangokuthi ebiza omama bethu ngoJane laphaya emakhishini, bebiza obaba bethu ukuthi ngopikinini ngoba nakhu besebenza ezingadini. Bengakhulumi nakahle nabo ngenxa yokuthi abazali bethu bebengafundile bebekhulunyiswa isifanakalo. Kepha intsha yashaya phansi ngonyawo yathi izolwela ukuthi ithole imfundo engcono ukuze ikwazi ukuphucula izimpilo zayo.
Emva kwalokho intsha yazabalaza kakhulu. Yaphiwa amagama kwathiwa ngo-lost generation. [Ubuwelewele.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[In Zulu we say: scrape your ears clean and listen carefully while I remind you and tell you the history of the youth of this country. This will also give you a clear picture as to how you became Members of Parliament. It is therefore important for you to make the lives of the youth better because you are sitting here in the NCOP today because of them.
Today we are gathered here in this Council representing our provinces because of the blood that was shed by thousands and thousands of the youth of this country; the youth who fought for me and you to be emancipated from oppression. Today we are sitting here in the Council because of the youth that sacrificed their lives. Some of them have never been accounted for till today, some of them are languishing in prisons. Lest we forget, the Civil Co-operation Bureau, CCB, and the then South African Defence Force, SADF, showed no mercy to them and hated comrades a lot.
But the youth was defiant and said they would never be defeated by the Afrikaners. The youth meant business; they came together and told the Afrikaners straight away that they - the Afrikaners - would face the consequences. And they stamped their authority indeed. We all know what happened in 1976. Most of the youth bravely took to the streets, marching from the Morris Isaacson High School led by the late Tsietsi Mashinini. The youth were fighting for education because the education of the time was aimed at producing garden boys and kitchen girls for the whites. We were indoctrinated to say, "Ja, Baas" [Yes, Master] or "Yes, Madam". That is why the youth were taught Afrikaans.
Soweto was on fire. Setting an Afrikaner alight was not a big issue. The Afrikaners themselves also knew very well that they were not welcome in Soweto. And all this was caused by the anger and hatred of the youth. Sadly, some of us went to school for the last time during those times and the practice of "pass one, pass all" was introduced. And some of us made it through the "pass one, pass all" practice.
It did not end there. During the 1980s youth continued to participate in the struggle and nourished this tree of liberation. Each time there would be a bus boycott, the youth would ensure that there were no sell-outs sneaking out to work. When we had what we termed a black Christmas, those who did not want to listen faced the wrath of the people and they were even forced to drink Sta-soft.
We all know how contemptuous the Afrikaners were. They called our mothers - who worked for them in the kitchens - names such as Jane and our fathers "piccaninnies" because they worked for them as garden boys. They did not even talk properly with our parents because our parents were illiterate and they spoke improper Zulu, Fanakalo, with them. But the youth defied all the odds and said, never! The youth said that they would fight for a better education so that they could better their lives.
From that time the youth participated in the struggle more. They were then called names such as the lost generation. [Interjections.]]