Leaders need to heed youth’s voice

South Africa – in common with the rest of Africa – has a population which is skewed towards the youth … and unless we understand how that vast group thinks and feels, we are sitting on a potential social and economic time bomb.

Research released this week by Ichikowitz Family Foundation, the African Youth Survey, contains some worrying, but also hopeful signs.

Foundation chair Ivor Ichikowitz said: “The message for leaders, for investors, for analysts or futurists, is the same: if you are not in the room with the youth, you are not bullet-proofing the future – your own or the continent’s.

“The corollary is as true: the African Century will happen despite you; it just won’t include you.”

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SA youth not optimistic

The survey found that young people in South Africa are not optimistic about the future – just over half of them are negative, the highest of any of the countries polled in the survey. They also believe that real change in this country will not be driven by politicians, but by local leaders and community organisations.

And, even though they might be despondent about their leaders, two-thirds of our young people still believe democracy is the best way to choose leaders – despite the very low turnout of first-time voters at the general election in 2019.

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The ANC and other political parties need to pay careful attention to the findings of surveys like this. Unemployment is highest among the youth and that, in turn, drives alienation and anger. Often, that anger finds expression in street violence and crime.

Politics, of all stripes in this country, is currently largely an old people’s game – so it’s no wonder the youth feel they have no voice. What might happen if young people decide to flex their political muscle by registering and voting in 2024 … this country could be in for a real change.