The South African Parliament has 490 members (400 in the National Assembly and 90 in the National Council of Provinces).
Out of the 490 members, only 23 are 35 years old and younger with the youngest being 26.
Of the 23 the ruling party (African National Congress) only has two people.
Is this a case of the young not being born or a case of the old refusing to die?
Imagine if the whole ruling party did not deploy its youth from its youth wing, the African National Congress Youth League. Does this mean they do not have much trust in the youth?
The ANC leaders are not going to live forever and, as bad as it may sound, it’s true. What will then happen? Does that mean we will then be leaderless? Should they not be train,ing their youth wing to be ready to take over?We are three months away from the national elections and the majority of the youth did not register to vote. The Electoral Commission of South Africa has even started a drive where they go to different universities and colleges to get the youth to register. How do you register to vote as a young person only to be led by someone who is 60 years old?
We should remember that most members of Parliament are there because they were in exile; they fought for our rights, etc. However, we are fighting a different struggle now and we need to be led by people who can relate to our struggles.
Have you ever watched the parliamentary channel, especially after 2pm? That is when you will see that we need more young people as South Africans to lead us as that is the time where people sleep in Parliament. They should retire and go spend some time with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
I might sound like I’m blabbing; however, is there a future for the youth in South Africa? Will the South African youth ever be recognised or will they only be recognised when someone needs to be removed from a position? In South Africa that is the only time you will see that there is youth in politics.
Let me end with the words of Oliver R Tambo: “The children of any nation are its future. A country, a movement, a person that does not value its youth and children does not deserve its future.”
Dear South African youth, learn to stand up for yourselves or you’ll never be taken seriously.
