Hon Chairperson, hon members, with 70% of young people jobless, South Africa faces a youth unemployment crisis of epic proportions. Crises such as this one require innovative ways of addressing problems. They demand that we rise above petty political differences and work together to find a solution.
Therefore, the broad support that the proposed youth wage subsidy received from most parliamentary opposition parties was informed by nothing other than the realisation that we, as political leaders, always have to work together for a better South Africa, especially in times of crisis. However, much to our disappointment, the government seems to lack the political will to implement the youth wage subsidy, which this House already approved and budgeted for a while ago. More than two years after President Zuma announced it, its implementation was postponed in April, and it is currently deadlocked at the National Economic Development and Labour Council, Nedlac.
Poor leadership by the government is at the core of the decision to postpone its implementation. Somehow the government seems to allow itself to be held to ransom by the ruling party's many and different factions at the expense of national interests.
Valid concerns about the impact the implementation of the youth wage subsidy might have on employment can be addressed without throwing the baby out with the bath water.
For instance, the unease in certain quarters that this plan will displace older workers and is subject to abuse can be mitigated by putting in place systems that govern how the money is spent, and by placing conditions on the receipt of any such subsidies.
Youth unemployment is a crisis that needs us to act now. We do not have the luxury to engage in endless debates that often yield no results, nor can we afford to fiddle while Rome burns. Thank you. [Applause.]