Hon Deputy Speaker, I want to take this opportunity first to congratulate our colleagues who are newly appointed as members of the executive. I especially want to mention the youngest executive member ever, the hon Mr Mduduzi Comfort Manana. [Applause.] We want to wish them well in their executive responsibilities.
On 16 June 1976 the youth marched against oppression. They marched fighting for better education, because they believed that it was their only hope for a better life. They were innocent, they were unarmed, and all they did was to sing and march against what they believed would make them worse off. The enemy then fired live ammunition, without retreat or conscience. The children filled the streets, running, screaming and calling for help, traumatised by the brutal adults in front of them. They were only children exercising a right to protest against what was being forced on them. However, the enemy did not see them as children who had rights, but as children who deserved to die.
As we commemorate this day, it is important for us not to forget the pain of the past, so that we can build a better future. This year's theme, "Education and learning to address youth unemployment, poverty and inequality", is relevant to both the 1976 generation and the 2012 generation. Even today, education is a tool to change the lives of ordinary young people in order for them to become better citizens.
My speech this year is dedicated to a young person in Orange Farm, whose name is Thando Tiger Ngoma, a founder of the Sisonke Agri Co-op Project that today employs 60 young people and addresses the issues of food security. He did this on his own, without any support. He started small, and yet today he is a small entrepreneur. We are hoping that he grows his business even further.
His Excellency President Jacob Zuma, in the state of the nation address 2012, highlighted three major challenges that South Africa is faced with, namely unemployment, poverty and inequality. These three challenges affect young people across race and gender, and especially in working-class communities.
Education and learning are a source of growth in communities to provide support in dealing with the challenges of youth unemployment, poverty and inequality. It is important for us as a society in general to support the War on Poverty Campaign led by the Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe. We call on government to intensify this campaign, therefore identifying change agents in the households that are being profiled. These change agents, being young people, will help change the cycle of poverty and improve the lives of their families.
The persisting growing inequalities will have dire consequences for young people if not urgently addressed. We continue to see the majority of young people in rural areas, informal settlements and townships suffering the consequences of these inequalities. They grow up in communities without recreational facilities, and with less access to services which are critical to their growth, such as libraries and laboratories. The plight of young black women in these communities also cannot be ignored, as they are more vulnerable to abuse and to being taken advantage of.
Currently unemployment in the country is at 25,2%, and 72% of that is the unemployment of young people. This poses a huge challenge, as the majority of these young people are unskilled and therefore have less chance of being absorbed by the market.
We need to call upon the private sector to stop being spectators, and to partner with institutions of higher education, especially FET colleges, in order to provide young people with workplace experience. There is a need for companies to seriously consider intense mentoring programmes to support the absorption of young people.
I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to the presiding officers of both Houses also to play a part by bringing young graduates into their offices, either as interns or as learners, in order to give them exposure to how Parliament functions. Parliament as an institution needs to play its part in building better future leaders of our country.
In order to resolve these challenges faced by young people, we need to stop theorising and be more practical. We need all parties to come together - public, private and nongovernmental organisation sectors - and build a better environment, with opportunities for young people. There is a need for patriotic businessmen and businesswomen of South Africa to contribute to the development of young people because they believe in this country's future; to contribute positively because it is a good thing to do so; and to contribute because it is morally correct to do so.
Hon members and members of the public, the youth wage subsidy is the initiative of the ANC government. The ANC government budgeted for this programme and is committed to implementing it. [Interjections.] However, it is concerning that opposition parties, especially the DA, have been pushing government to implement this and have been disregarding the concerns of the stakeholders.
So, President Zuma and Minister Gordhan must just ignore a critical process of the National Economic Development and Labour Council, Nedlac, and implement the initiative! This is inconsistent with what they are always saying, that the ANC government bulldozes things through without listening to dissenting voices. I can only imagine what this country would be like under the rule of the DA, if they were to bulldoze things through and forget the issues that other people were raising. It is cause for concern, and I am actually scared to think about this! There are concerns regarding the youth wage subsidy that need to be addressed. These need to be addressed because they are acknowledged by all parties.
We do not want to see what we saw when learnerships were implemented, where in some companies learners were given the responsibilities of making coffee and photocopying, rather than being skilled. These are some of the issues that have been raised and that people are saying need to be addressed. Young people in this country deserve better. We want permanent solutions to the challenges that they are faced with.
I would also like to express my concern about leaders who go around instigating violence by saying young people must rise like those people involved in the so-called Arab Spring. My understanding is that during this so-called Arab Spring there was violence and people died. I do not understand how you can be inspired by a process that ended with citizens' losing their lives. We need to condemn this totally. We cannot afford to have leaders who instigate violence in our communities. South African young people have been taught to resolve issues through dialogue and not violence. We saw this in the process towards democracy.
As I conclude, let me say that former President Mandela continues to inspire us as a nation. I would once again like to quote famous remarks of his. He said:
Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that a son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.
I thank you. [Applause.]