Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members, Acting Director-General, senior government officials, invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, 33 years ago women and men throughout our country took to the streets trying to find their voice and express their desire for a decent education. Thirty-three years later, on the occasion of the June 16 celebrations, we launched the National Youth Development Agency at Katlehong, under the theme, "Celebrating a vibrant youth voice". This was in line with our determination to integrate and mainstream government programmes towards youth development.
The vigour of the 1976 generation is the same as the one we have today, though ours now is to concentrate on the creation of decent work for young people, especially because they constitute 75% of the unemployed in our country. The President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Jacob Zuma, yesterday recommitted himself to advancing, championing and prioritising youth development in the next five years.
It is for this reason that my debate on the Budget Vote of the department will be confined to the EPWP and the National Youth Service programme. Both programmes are skills-orientated and as such have a bearing on our past.
We are all aware of the fact that the past regime left our country with both lower skills levels than most economies of a similar level of productivity, and highly inequitable access to qualifications, based on race. However, our approach should be streamlined such that skills development, through both basic education and the provision of training and qualifications for adults, is made crucial for employment creation, economic growth and equity.
The ANC, having committed itself to the people of this country who have given it a decisive mandate to better their lives during the next five years, has undertaken to ensure that decent work opportunities and sustainable livelihoods are created through, amongst other programmes, the EPWP, which resides with this department.
The EPWP, though seen as an ambitious undertaking by some, is practical and requires that the different stakeholders, communities, individual persons, the three spheres of government, public representatives, sectoral organisations, parastatals, business and labour, all play their different and complementary roles to ensure that we are able to reach the target of 500 000 work opportunities by the end of the year.
One measure of a progressive state is the way it treats and provides decent opportunities for its youth. The National Youth Service programme, which was initiated in 2003, is meant to address the high levels of youth unemployment by creating opportunities for voluntary service and skills development for young people. The programme supports community and national development, whilst simultaneously providing an opportunity for young people to access opportunities for skills development, employment and income generation.
Unemployment and poverty remain the most critical socioeconomic challenges facing the young people of South Africa. Unemployment is a result of the inability of the South African economy to absorb the majority of young people. Our economy's continued reliance on the extraction, production and exportation of primary commodities and importation of finished products, worsens the levels and degree of youth unemployment in this country.
This government is expected to prioritise effective and sustainable interventions in order to intensify its fight against unemployment and poverty. Such interventions will attempt to diversify and develop the absorptive sections of the South African economy in order to absorb those young people who remain vulnerable and unemployed.
On the occasion of its 52nd national congress, held in Polokwane in 2007, the ANC reaffirmed its commitment to youth development. In particular, it resolved that government must immediately review the existing institutions of youth development and create, I quote:
... a National Youth Development Agency that will ensure seamless integration, sustainability and responsiveness to the demands and aspirations of South Africa's youth, established through the merger of the national and provincial youth commissions and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund.
The agency has been completed and was launched yesterday. This agency emphasises its commitment to youth and youth development. The ANC policy paradigm on youth development also places obligations on young people. In particular, it requires young people to work for reconciliation and to promote a common South African identity; to participate actively in the political, social and economic life of our country; to combat discrimination and racism; to promote democratic values; and to acquire skills and play a productive role in the reconstruction and development of the economy.
It is also gratifying to note the progress made thus far by the department. The department has recruited 6 355 young people, whilst 8 717 were recruited by provincial departments of public works since the inception of the National Youth Programme in 2007.
In conclusion, I want to state without any hesitation that the second phase of the Expanded Public Works Programme will not be realised if participation by young people is minimal.
Equally, we draw hope and encouragement from the understanding that entities residing in this department will, in their efforts as they seek to realise their vision, respond to the needs and aspirations of young people.
Lest we forget, this, after all, is their government, as they have shown for the first time their commitment, interest and participation in the recent, fourth general election in a democratic South Africa. The ANC supports the budget.
I thank you. [Applause.]