SA youth is not apathetic

As the country celebrates the 44th anniversary of 16 June, 1976 – which has become known as National Youth Day in post-democratic South Africa – tomorrow, massive youth unemployment and lack of meaningful participation in the economy remained a major issue, according to a political analyst.

Student leaders back then, including Tsietsi Mashinini, Mbuyisa Makhubu and Murphy Morobe, led the revolt against Afrikaans as a medium of instruction, with Hector Pieterson becoming the youngest person to be shot dead by apartheid security forces during those protests.

Nelson Mandela University political lecturer Ongama Mtimka yesterday described youth unemployment and their lack of meaningful participation in the country’s economy as “the most depressing issue”.

He said young people had “a choice between being remembered by history as passive victims of the failings of global capitalism, or work to be seen as a generation of restorers”.

This was the case in 1976, when they used the classroom as a platform for politics and protest helped them “to get their voices heard”.

“In the political space, we must remember that it is not protest alone that will change things for young people, but economic for-tunes,” said Mtimka.

“You are dealing with a youth generation that are short-changed educationally, such that there is a lot more that needs to be done in terms of remedial education at higher education, post-school levels or post-university.

“They have to find ways of adding value to the economy in ways that help them to earn a living because unfortunately, there does not seem to be a way to integrate them in the economy, making it more challenging for them.”

Mtimka, dispelled as “a myth” that the current young generation was politically apathetic.

He explained: “As it has always been the case throughout history, at any given time there needs to be a certain trigger galvanising young people to take action.

“The younger millennials from 2015, have asserted themselves in SA politics, dispelling the notion of youth apathy.

“What has become clear is that the youth remain distrustful of formalised political structures and platforms.

“When we assess their level of political engagement using voting, attending community meetings, participating in structures and other formal processes, you are not going to find them there.

“They are choosing to express themselves using platforms they deem important.

“During the #FeesMustFall campaign, there was a lot of social media mobilisation and it was geared towards a very precise action, such as fighting the objects of colonial legacy, which included colonisation of the curriculum at universities.

“Research shows that increasingly the EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters] is attracting young people because [they] identify with politics of rage and disruption against a global political system.

“It underscores how the young people have interpreted their political project, outside of the parameters we have set as legitimate spaces for political action.“Who are we to define traditional platforms where young people should participate for us to say they are engaging in political space?

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.