Government engages young people on issues of development
Entrepreneurship identified as major aspect of youth development.
Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Buti Manamela held talks with young people at the University of Johannesburg Soweto Campus on Monday.
The dialogue which was focused on youth development was a prelude to a career expo to be held at the same venue this coming weekend.
Through this dialogue, Manamela wanted to get a better understanding of the challenges faced by young people in this country.
Everything that was discussed was noted down and will be presented to the Deputy President of the country Cyril Ramaphosa in a bid to find solutions to problems facing the youth.
The dialogue was attended by various community organisations and students movements. Issues of youth entrepreneurship, land and funding for higher education were critically discussed.
Even though entrepreneurship was identified as an important aspect of youth development, some young people called for more focus and funding to be directed towards education first.
Philip Nkutha, chairperson of the SRC at UJ Soweto Campus said, “We appreciate the effort that government is making by providing funding for young people to start their businesses. Government should provide as much funding for education as it does for businesses because without education we can’t run profitable and sustainable businesses.”
Other young people complained about red tape and many compliance requirements when applying for funding from agencies like the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).
They went on to call for government to speed up the process of addressing the land issue which is also a hindrance for them doing business.
Manamela said they will be making sure that issues of youth development are prioritised by government at provincial and national levels.
“It must no longer be the business of the NYDA to ensure that it delivers on youth issues but the whole of government must ensure that it happens. We will continue to advocate for a bigger budget for the NYDA so that we can see more young people start their businesses and become active players in our economy,” said Manamela.
He ended by encouraging young people to go out and register to vote in the upcoming Municipal Elections.
“To use our rights of making government accountable, we have to act on our responsibility to go out and vote in the upcoming elections,” concluded Manamela.
