Their education system is, at the very least, showing signs of serious strain — some would say in the middle of a major collapse. Crime rips through their neighbourhoods while poverty and unemployment remain centre stage.
And the parties meant to voice their interests have been struggling to find their own place in politics — and what comes out isn’t usually a unifying message of hope with the youth’s interests at heart.
Meanwhile, the government groups whose sole mandate is to serve our youth — the National Youth Commission (NYC) and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund — have been fraught with serious problems, ranging from a lack of funding to nepotism.
But just a few months ago hope was on the horizon.
In November Parliament declared the end of those tarnished groups and ushered in an all new, all encompassing national youth development agency (NYDA). Though the new group is not even up and running, it’s already being accused by opposition parties of being nothing more than an electioneering tool for the ANC.
“[The new agency] is just a cheap electioneering trick which has nothing to do with advancing South Africa’s youth development strategy,” said Pat Lebenya-Ntanzi, the IFP spokesperson for youth.
Critics of the agency point to the failed youth groups, sure that the new agency will be much of the same.
On paper, the agency’s structure could have more teeth than its predecessors, forcing government to be more pro-active in youth development.
While the National Youth Development Agency Bill was passed in Parliament last year, details of where and when the agency will get off the ground are not yet clear.
Insiders ascribe this to concerns by those involved about where the power will lie.
The presidency assured commissioners that their jobs were “safe” despite the new Bill, but pushing and shoving is expected by those who served in the two previous bodies to secure themselves positions in the new agency.
The power balance between the political masters who were based in the commission and those holding the purse strings, based in the Youth Fund, was a source of constant conflict, which legislators felt could only be resolved by amalgamating the two bodies.
The new agency, like the Youth commission, will be based in the presidency and will use a similar model as the government communications and information services, which serves under the leadership of the minister in the presidency but has its own chief executive and full executive powers. The NYDA will be accountable to Parliament and will run its own budget.
But whether they will be accountable to the youth is another question entirely.