No, I won't take a question. [Interjections.] I don't have time for that ...
... and low-skilled positions with little or no long-term prospects of improving the quality of employment. This essentially ensures the perpetuation of the apartheid labour market. The key challenge therefore is to reverse the apartheid labour market and address structural unemployment.
Concerning the Youth Wage Subsidy model, two purposes emerge: that is, lowering the cost of labour for business while keeping the workers' wage intact and imparting training to young workers. The current exponential rate of unemployment of young black South Africans is a function of the skills deficit and unemployability is a rational ramification thereof. However, the notion of a youth wage subsidy is a response not to a skills deficit but the reluctance in the private sector to take up young people for employment and subsequent training.
Ultimately, seeing the wage subsidy as a one-dimensional solution to youth unemployment blames unemployment simply on higher wages. It ignores both the low pay most workers still earn and the systemic faults in our economy as a legacy of colonialism of a special economic type and it risks pitting young workers against older ones for short-term political gain. [Interjections.]
As a way forward, any proposal would need to fit into the paradigm of proposals and initiatives that are already in operation. In addition, the Internship Programme across the public sector, parastatals and private sector should be deepened.
Given this situation, the strategy to deal with this can neither be short- term nor dimensional, as some political parties would want the nation to believe. You do not solve the complexities of this challenge by indulging in cheap publicity stunts, marches that seek to portray that certain individuals of a political party have infinite wisdom on the matter when, in fact, they themselves have failed miserably to address this challenge in the areas where they have responsibility. [Interjections.] For example, the lauded youth wage subsidy as introduced by the DA - yes, in the Western Cape - has not seen an improvement in youth employment but rather ... [Interjections.] ... between 2010 - listen to this - and 2012, there has been a net decrease of 5% in employment of youth under the age of 30 in the Western Cape. This demonstrates that the Youth Wage Subsidy is not a single- solution model that can work. That places the Western Cape in the third position from the bottom in terms of youth employment by province. Thank you very much, hon Chair. [Time expired.] [Applause.]