I didn't say that! [Interjections.] I didn't say that! I said, "Don't laugh, hon member - you've got a job!" These are the faces of unemployment in South Africa today, Deputy Speaker. When the DA asked unemployed youth to send us their photos, we received hundreds of replies in minutes. And there are roughly 7 million more photos like this in South Africa today. All of them are watching you and all of them are waiting, but they won't wait much longer.
If this government does not wake up to the reality of youth unemployment today and begin to act on it immediately and with the necessary urgency, it too will find itself at the mercy of a generation that is fed up, ignored, marginalised and angry. And it may already be too late for the ANC, I am afraid. You have ignored young people, and now they are beginning to ignore you. Just look at Matatiele. [Applause.] Even Zwelinzima Vavi has spotted the trend! He often seems to spot the trend first, even if he is the source of the trend! He has warned that unless you change your ethos soon, you will suffer defeat by the DA in 2019. [Applause.]
The fact is that all young, unemployed people who continue to hope for a more prosperous future now know that you oppose that vision - and we stand shoulder to shoulder with them! [Applause.] They look to a DA government that is already implementing the youth wage subsidy, that is growing the economy, that is creating jobs, that is delivering services to the poor, and that is improving the lives of the poor, a government that, according to the Public Service Commission, is the most inclusive and diverse government in the country. Sorry to take the wind out of your sails, hon Kubayi ... [Applause.] ... but you can't hide from the truth!
Nationally, things are not getting any better, hon member. On Monday this week we were shocked to hear that annualised employment figures for May dropped by a staggering 3,1%. That figure might seem cold, but what it really represents is thousands more faces like the ones I've shown you today. It is their plight and their prospects for the future which should weigh heavily on our hearts today.
Christina Mosito, and the many millions like her, just want a fair chance at accessing the job market for the first time. They need to get their foot in the door. Countless studies from nearly every developing country have shown that if a young person can get a job and keep it for at least one year, they stand an excellent chance of being employed for the rest of their working lives. But if they do not get a job within three years of graduating, they are more likely to be indefinitely unemployed.
That is why the youth wage subsidy is such a crucial policy intervention. It is not the panacea. [Interjections.] It is not the panacea, but it does open the door of the job market just wide enough for first-time job seekers to get their foot in. This is the bizarre thing about this debate, hon Kubayi. This is the bizarre thing - we agree on the youth wage subsidy! It doesn't matter who came up with it first. Take the credit - no problem! We agree. Every single member in this House, with the exception of a few maybe, agrees that the youth wage subsidy needs to be implemented.
President Zuma announced it in 2010. Minister Gordhan has budgeted for it - R5 billion. The KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize has declared his support for it, along with countless other people. We agree on this. That is not the debate. The only question you need to answer, hon member, is why, after two years, this government is still allowing itself to be dictated to by its union allies, who have never stood for election, who haven't a single seat in this House, and who don't understand the first thing about unemployment, because by definition they represent the employed. [Interjections.]