Gr 12s of Charter College share their views on being president for a day

The late Whitney Houston recorded a number-one hit song with uplifting lyrics emphasising the importance of the youth being tomorrow’s leaders.

She was only 23 years old when she sang ‘I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way’ in her song, Greatest Love of All.

With the national and provincial elections approaching soon, the Gen-Z generation is eager to see change in the South African government.

The Roodepoort Northsider asked the matrics of Charter College International to express how they would bring change to the country if they were president for a day, and these were their answers.

• Gabriel Pullela: “As president, I would do everything in my ability to further unite our nation, tackle the problem of inequality and grow our economy. I would prioritise education, investing in a better healthcare system and creating more job opportunities which is a major problem in our nation. Additionally, I’d like to aim to promote sustainable development, strengthen our international partnerships and encourage trade. All of this for a brighter future for South Africans.”

• Hannah Woolnough: “If I was president for the day, I would try to tackle the systemic problems we have faced for ages. We can’t fix these issues without dealing with the problem at the root. I would fire all the ministers who are underperforming, which happens to be most of them. I’ll replace these ministers with people who deserve their place with merit and have a great understanding of their role as servant leaders. I’ll also get rid of redundant ministries as this is a waste of taxpayers’ money. This money can be used for the systematic problems we face.”

• Richard Adeniran: “As president, I would be committed to uplifting the living standards for all through striving for growth in economic factors while still ensuring the safekeeping of our environment. South Africa has one of the highest inequality in the world therefore I would implement more stringent policies to tackle this problem. For example an increase in progressive wealth and income tax. This tax revenue would be used to fund an increase in transfer payments and direct provision to poor and low-income households.”

• Shae Murphy: “As president, my priority would be to increase employment opportunities. If we could decrease our unemployment rate, not only would the standard of living for the poor improve, but our country would experience economic growth as there would be more economic activity. In addition, the use of our resources should be carefully and efficiently managed. Ineffective management results in a waste of our scarce resources which is a critical issue that our country is facing.”

• Unashe Sika: “If I was ever tasked with being the president of South Africa, I would address our key issues with one of them being education as this is a topic I hold in great affection. I have to acknowledge my extreme privilege first with my parents providing me with a private education. Ensuring equal access to education, from primary education to tertiary education, by investing in infrastructure in underprivileged communities would be my priority. Quality education should be a reality for the youth. Stimulation of economic growth would be a byproduct of this, achieved by promoting a country with less violence and increased social cohesion. Therefore, I hope that promoting education would result in greater overall empowerment in South Africa, an effect that our country has already made great strides in over the last 30 years.”