The youthful Johannesburg city father Matome Mafokwane is young at heart and very dedicated.
The Ward 96 councillor used the word ‘youth’ many times in an exclusive interview he granted Fourways Review during Youth Month.
Even though Mafokwane believes that the youth of today has many opportunities, he feels that the government is giving the adolescents of South Africa a raw deal. He lamented the high unemployment rate among the youth and believes more could be done to make their lives easier.
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“I believe the youth of 1976 did not die for me and young people of today just so that we can be unemployed, burn the schools, clinics, municipal infrastructure and so forth,” said the 38-year-old Mafokwane who began his youth activism at the age of 16 in a small village outside Polokwane.
Who is Mafokwane and what makes him tick? The married dreadlocked councillor declined to venture much into his personal life and instead opted to sing the praises of the 1976 youths who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of South Africa.
“I refuse to believe the past generations sacrificed their lives for the youth of today so that we can be trapped in poverty and a life of drugs. I say this because the youth of 76 had very little to celebrate but we, the youth of today, have so much to be proud of, opportunities are endless and it all boils to mindset,” said the father of two.
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Mafokwane sees himself as an improver of people’s quality of life and is totally convinced that his party, the Democratic Alliance, has the willingness and capacity to bring change to the lives of Johannesburg residents. “I believe in the future of this great city and feel a true change can be delivered by the DA.”
The Bloubosrand resident also called on the government to make it easy for people to register small businesses by cutting bureaucracy and urged the youth to take the entrepreneurial route.
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The current Ward 96 councillor will be contesting Ward 115 in the coming 3 August elections. The ward includes Cedar lakes, Douglasdale, Fourways, Jukskei Park and Waterford Estate.
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