Tangeni Amupadhi
The National Youth Commission has declared 1998 a year of delivery after two years of talk-shops and much fuss about the salary of its chair. For the youth of South Africa, however, the commission is doing too little, too slowly.
Random interviews conducted with youth this week revealed high levels of impatience with a commission some felt was “too far away from the youth”, and others had not even heard of.
Launched in 1996 with much fanfare – and criticism about the R30 000 per month salary and perks of chair Mahlengi Bhengu – the commission has faded from the public landscape as concerns about the future of the country’s youthful generation have moved into the foreground.
The commission says it has spent the past two years consulting 167 youth organisations across the country and has submitted a draft youth policy for Cabinet approval.
But Vukile Nkabinde (27), an unemployed psychology graduate and director of the South African Graduates Development Association which represents jobless graduates, says: “The [commissioners] are too far away from the youth. We are not sure if they are really working or just enjoying the tax money. They need to come nearer so they can see that the very same youths who participated in the struggle, throwing stones, are disenfranchised. They must stop the rhetoric – what we need is action.”
And despite the commission’s claims of wide consultation, some youths, like Tembisa matric student Fedrica Masilo (20) are not even aware that the commission exists.
“Maybe they don’t do their work because I don’t know anything about them. What they should do is build sports facilities, places to keep the youth busy, and make sure children go to school,” says Masilo.
Others, like secretarial student Brian Thagwana (20), know about the commission, but are uncertain about its role. “I think the commission should deal with the problem of unemployment and they should train the youth,” he says.
The commission’s acting CEO, Paul Johnson, says the commissioners are aware that “there is a lot of expectation on us to deliver jobs because of the backlog”, but argues that the commission cannot go beyond its mandate.
That mandate, he says, is limited to drawing up policy guidelines, and facilitating and monitoring their implementation. The commission also works with a limited staff and an annual operational budget of only R8,2-million.
But Johnson says he hopes a new pilot project to be launched on June 16 will help alleviate some of the commission’s communication problems. The three-month R222 000 pilot project includes an a toll- free helpline to assist young people.
In the longer term, he predicts that a planned “youth employment clearing house database” will emerge as the most important, and lasting, component of the project.
“This will contribute to awareness and give the youth access to job opportunities – especially the marginalised youth,” says Johnson.
The United States government is helping the commission set up the clearing house through the US-South Africa Binational Commission. The jobs data will be available on the Internet and eventually via a national infrastructure which will be linked to multi- purpose youth centres to be built around the country.
While the draft youth policy promises a lot, Johnson says the strongest suggestion to emerge from consultations is the long-awaited proposal for a national service. Details still have to be worked out, but the commission has committed itself to making the service a reality. “This will give the youth a chance to get jobs.”
A stakeholders’ task team was set up to decide what form the national service will take and is expected to come up with its first report in September.
During its consultation with youth organisations, the commission says only the Freedom Front has opposed the idea of national service, while some have expressed concern, likening the national service to the apartheid government’s conscription into the army.