The National Youth Commission’s (NYC) chief mandate is not to implement youth programmes, it said on Monday.
”The implementing authority does not rest with us … Ours is to facilitate an enabling environment for youth development to take place,” NYC chairperson Nomi Nkondlo told a media briefing in Johannesburg.
The commission said it has observed with concern ongoing misinterpretation of its mandate and expectations of the organisation, which are not aligned to its powers and responsibilities.
”At the core of our mandate is to develop and advise on youth development-related policies and to monitor and evaluate the proper implementation of these policies,” read a statement handed out at the briefing.
”We work with government departments as they are the implementers of the various policies.”
An enforceable national youth policy is being developed to replace the current policy framework and is anticipated to foster greater compliance.
Commissioner Mothupi Modiba told the briefing that the commission has an annual budget of about R18-million.
Pilot programmes are handed over to government departments for implementation, he said.
”We don’t have the capacity to run programmes on a sustained basis.”
Modiba said there is ”nothing out of the ordinary” about the salaries paid to the chairperson and commissioners.
”It’s a government norm. If you participate at a certain level of responsibility there is a set level of remuneration.”
Last week an ad hoc committee on the review of Chapter 9 and associated institutions probed the R466 425 annual salaries paid to each of the five commissioners, according to a Business Day report.
Nkondlo told the parliamentary committee that a damning report, describing the organisation as highly ineffective and lacking policy, measurable objectives and data on youth practices, was accurate.
However, committee chairperson Kader Asmal told Nkondlo last week that the commission’s mandate is broader than advising government.
Nkondlo told Monday’s briefing that the commission has taken the committee review positively.
”We will come out of this process as a better enhanced and strengthened institution.”
Commission programmes include establishing youth desks in local municipalities, while its national youth-service programme has recruited double the set target of 10 000 volunteers, the statement said. — Sapa