Madam Deputy Speaker, I am delighted to rise to the podium today to once again remember and honour the commitment and example of South Africa's heroes of June 16, 1976.
The day June 16, 1976 is a day violently imprinted on South Africa's collective conscience. Commemorated over 33 years later as Youth Day, it is a day that honours the deaths of hundreds of Soweto school youths. On that day the apartheid regime and its police force were caught off guard when the simmering bubble of anger of school-going youth finally burst, releasing an intensity of emotion. On that day, voices of a generation of inspired youth resonating through the valleys and hills of South Africa were heard. Their vibrant youth voices cried: "This is our day." On that day, hundreds of youths lost their lives; but it was the day that ultimately changed the future of our country forever.
I believe that this is the true living message conveyed to us by the heroes of June 16, 1976 - the message of courage and hope. The vibrant youth voices of 1976 taught us that there is no challenge too big to overcome. The chief aspiration at that time was freedom from oppression. But today, despite the fact that we have made great strides since achieving democracy, unemployment - particularly among the youth - remains a major concern. Madam Deputy Speaker, the reality is that after 14 years of democracy, we still can't boast that a better life for all youths has been achieved. In some instances, we have even gone backwards. Food prices are skyrocketing; electricity supply is unstable; fuel costs are exorbitant and rising very fast; criminality is rampant; jobs are scarce; and, for many, houses are still unaffordable. Education is not up to scratch. During the apartheid era, school children were exposed to intimidation and violence by police. Today, school children experience intimidation and violence in their own classrooms from their own teachers and classmates. [Applause.]
Today, many youths still face the same problems as the generation of 1976. The question is: How can we make this better? The answer is: Let us get involved. The torch has been passed on to a new generation of South Africans. It is now time for us, the young people of our country, to become politically active and rally against the many challenges we face in all their forms. Our generation must feel the same spirit of patriotism that drove our peers to become politically active. We must become the vibrant youth voices for change.
The relationship between society and the youth is extremely complex. Nevertheless, it has been possible to describe a clear theme in this relationship - the theme of the tension between belief in the strength of, and the innovative changes and improvements by the youth, and the fear of change and an arguably increased loss of norms. This paradox is not particular to South Africa, nor to this generation of young people. It is a paradox that has probably applied in every age and culture.
Youth development remains one of the complex challenges facing democratic South Africa. Fifteen years after the transition to democracy, it is young people who are severely affected by negative socioeconomic factors such as HIV and Aids, high levels of unemployment, poverty and the lack of participation in political and economic development processes.
The Presidency launched the National Youth Development Agency recently. It is an open secret that this development was, among other things, due to the IFP, which raised a number of concerns over a decade ago about the incompetence of the erstwhile National Youth Commission and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund. Therefore, to the IFP and the millions of our citizens, the launch of the new agency, though not perfect, presents all of us with a rare window of opportunity to fix what is wrong with our youth sector.
Unlike before, government and youth formations have an opportunity to address collectively challenges facing young people in our country. The IFP believes that the importance and effectiveness of the agency ultimately relies on youth formations themselves and government departments and their willingness to enforce youth-centred policies and programmes. The message to the new agency and its leadership is clear. To those young people in the rural areas and slums, struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, you should pledge your best efforts to help them help themselves - not because you seek their votes, but because it is right to do so. This is the hope and the faith that young people and citizens have in the new agency and its leadership. So, they dare not fail. I thank you. [Applause.]