R5 billion has been set aside in the National Budget for a youth employment subsidy – but a local youth leader blames the municipality, as nothing has materialised.
R5 billion has been set aside in the National Budget for a youth employment subsidy – but a local youth leader blames the municipality, as nothing has materialised.
President Jacob Zuma said in his State of the Nation address, “Research has indicated that we can create jobs in six priority areas. These are infrastructure development, agriculture, mining and beneficiation, manufacturing, the green economy and tourism. We are pleased to announce the establishment of a jobs fund of 9 billion rand over the next three years to finance new job-creation initiatives.”
The issue in Grahamstown
According to Sub-district secretary of the Young Communist League, Bongani Hanise, Makana Municipality has failed to implement any initiatives that would assist “unemployed youth” in job-creation.
He said that during the 2008 Makana Youth Summit, the municipality agreed to implement a youth resolution that Benjamin Mahlasela High School should be converted into a technical school "to better equip young people with technical skills". This has not happened.
Hanise also accused the municipality of failing to support local small and medium enterprises (SMMEs), which he said were mostly owned by young people, by issuing tenders to businesses outside Grahamstown.
Some voices on the ground
Lozuko Rafu, 26, from Joza township, is one young person who carries the burden of being unemployed. He dropped out of school in Grade 11.
“I have been seeking employment for the past five years with no success. My parents passed away when I was young. We are currently dependent on my granny’s old-age pension,” said Rafu.
He wishes for the government to create more jobs for young people, and opportunities for them to learn new skills.
Amanda Mdyesha, 23, of Joza is also unemployed. Although she passed Grade 12 three years ago, her mother, who is unemployed, didn't have the money to send her to university. She believed the government should introduce entrepreneurial development programmes to help young people like her, who wanted to own a small business.
Statistics
According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey 2011, 77.8% of the Eastern Cape’s population is without a job (unemployed; not economically active and discouraged work-seekers).
Unemployed persons are those (aged 15–64 years) who:
a) Were not employed in the reference week and;
b) Actively looked for work or tried to start a business in the four weeks preceding the survey interview and;
c) Were available for work, i.e. would have been able to start work or a business in the reference week or; d) Had not actively looked for work in the past four weeks but had a job or business to start at a definite date in the future and were available.
What is needed
Makashule Gana, Democratic Alliance Youth national leader based in Cape Town, said that in the short-term, companies must take advantage of the R5 billion youth employment subsidy scheme mentioned in the National Budget 2011 by hiring more young people.
“We must also improve the level of education among the youth, so they are able to tackle the challenges of tomorrow," Gana said. "The government must introduce on-the-job training through skills development in order to address the backlog of technical skills."
The mayor of Makana Municipality, Zamuxolo Peter said: "In my inauguration ceremony as a mayor I indicated that the municipality will develop the programmes that seek to uplift young people and also provide support system in funding their SMMEs, so that they can sustain themselves. This would be done in partnership with relevant institutions such as the National Youth Development Agency and other government departments through what is called an Integrated Government Relations platform."
Peters said that the previous council meeting resolved that the defunct "Youth Council" must be revived to represent all youth in the Makana irrespective of colour and political persuasions. The municipality has also established a skills development office for young people. He said they would look into other projects and appoint new leadership to get them up and running.
In the National Budget speech, Minister Pravin Gordhan said, “We must offer young work-seekers real hope where at present there is despair. We need to do things differently. We need to have the courage to pilot new approaches and build new partnerships, promoting innovation throughout our economy.”
