Next year, it will be 30 years since SA ushered in democratic freedom and relegated the illegal apartheid regime to the dustbin of history. For many citizens, the advent of democracy — with its promise of freedom from discrimination — is yet to translate into better lives.
For “ama2000”, those born in 2000, the promise of equal opportunity is somewhat fading. The rate of joblessness is highest among the youth. Empirical evidence shows that only those connected to politicians and the wealthy can secure the limited opportunities available.
Some observers say the ANC, the governing party since democracy, promised so much in 1994, but nearly 30 years later it has delivered so little.
Despite SA having the potential to be a prosperous nation, many things have stood in the way of progress. Poverty, lack of skills, nepotism, racism, cronyism, crime and corruption are why many things seem to be going wrong.
The angst and desperation in many communities can be likened to that of 1976 when schoolchildren confronted the apartheid system. That year, on June 16, schoolchildren marched in a protest that began the Soweto Uprising — a major event in the struggle against apartheid.
The question now is why are the ama2000 not agitating for a better future for their country?
Yes, the Fees Must Fall movement was a great way to show that they have woken up. Some students, who led the movement, were co-opted by political parties and went on to become MPs, something that has apparently shifted their priorities.
Lame slogans
If the ama2000 were really fighting for their future, we would not have to bear with the same lame slogans every year on June 16 and the rest of Youth Month.
One slogan I hope never to see again reads, “We should share a responsibility to build a new nation, to serve the people of SA, and to improve the lives of every South African — leaving no-one behind.”
The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), which supposedly has the interests of the ama2000 at heart, also spews ill-considered slogans. It plans to launch its Youth Month celebration with the theme “Accelerating youth economic emancipation for a sustainable future”.
During Youth Month, the agency plans to launch a programme to showcase careers focusing on the digital economy. It will also launch the Youth in Business competition in Limpopo, which will be similar to the DStv reality show Dragons’ Den, in which young entrepreneurs give a 60-second pitch and the overall winner receives R50,000.
One wonders what they want to accelerate when 60% of the population is unemployed and under 30 years of age.
Are they accelerating the level of poverty by launching programmes that enrich a few of their comrades? If only the agency could instead showcase careers to the youth with a focus on the digital economy. The sooner the NYDA loses the title of an agency for the youth, the better.
Tutu laptop
SA needs innovation to absorb the ever-increasing number of young people. Programmes such as the Presidential Employment Stimulus and the NYDA’s Job Career Fair are hardly making a dent in solving the joblessness problem among the youth.
The agency would probably be better off considering a simple idea such as partnering with China’s Huawei or the US-based HP to develop an SA-produced laptop. The laptop could be called Tutu, in reference to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who campaigned for an inclusive rainbow nation. The Tutu laptop could be built and assembled by youth in a township such as Soshanguve.
The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) could be lobbied to fund a manufacturing facility in partnership with Huawei or HP. The same laptop would then be procured by the government for use in all departments and municipalities countrywide.
How many jobs will be created by such a venture? Food for thought.
As French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote in 1849, plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, or “the more things change, the more they stay the same”.
• Lourie is the founder and editor of TechFinancials.
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