It was unacceptable that, 28 years into our democracy, South Africa was struggling with the highest youth unemployment rate, said organisations as the country commemorated Youth Day.
Youth Day marks a day of remembrance, when at least 176 people – mostly youth in Soweto – were killed in protests against the imposition of the policy of Afrikaans as the sole means of instruction at schools. This year’s Youth Day marked the 46th anniversary of this dark chapter in South African history.
Yesterday, different organisations, however, said much remained to be done to change the outlook for the children and youth of the future, especially with youth unemployment rates at a staggering rate.
According to Statistics SA, the unemployment rate was 63,9% for those aged between 15-24 and 42,1% for those aged 25-34 years in the first quarter of 2022.
The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said the impact of high youth unemployment and extreme poverty were made much worse where youth and children were fearful of their safety and survival.
“Much more needs to be done to better engage the youth, draw on their energy and experiences to support income generation, and to mitigate against high unemployment. Without strong commitments to such programmes and without decisive and transparent action to implement such commitments, South Africa’s youthful population and children will continue to pay with their lives to break the back of poverty,” the SAHRC said.
Amnesty International SA urged the government to provide quality education in a safe environment if it wanted to decrease youth unemployment.
“This, however, is not possible if the country’s education system is still broken and unequal,” Amnesty International SA executive director Shenilla Mohamed said.
“The dire state of education in South Africa has a direct impact on youth unemployment in this country. Quality education is one of the most powerful ways to give our children a bright future. If the government wants the youth to participate in the economy, it needs to ensure that every child, no matter their background, is given quality education.”
The Assembly of the Unemployed (AoU) said it was totally unacceptable that 28 years into our democracy, South Africa was struggling with the highest youth unemployment rate ever. “Due to this, most young people are excluded from enjoying the fruits of our democracy,” the AoU said.
The assembly added that it was tired of empty promises made by the government and repeated false promises by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“We cannot continue with the rhetoric while we are sitting with a ticking time bomb,” the AoU said.
The Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) said it sadly commemorated Youth Day 2022 with not much to celebrate as youth unemployment was still unacceptably high.
“Fedusa calls on the private sector to collaborate more effectively with the federation in an attempt to find meaningful solutions and provide the youth with a greater sense of worth, purpose and inclusivity,” the federation said.
@Chulu_M