Advocacy campaign Youth Capital, journalist Nickolaus Bauer and youth activist Ekta Somera speak to representatives political parties about their youth policies ahead of the National Elections. In this first instalment, we spoke to Democratic Alliance, African Christian Democratic Party, RISE Mzansi, Freedom Front Plus and Patriotic Alliance in an online discussion – the African National Congress was invited, but unfortunately didn’t show.
South Africa has one of the world’s highest rates of sustained unemployment in the world.
‘South Africa has a youth population, and all young people will vote with their challenges in mind – youth unemployment is the greatest challenge we face and we demand to know what political parties have in store for us’ says Somera.
According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey, six in 10 young South Africans between the ages of 18 and 34 are unable to make an income. What’s more, eight in 10 of those young people have never had a job. The Presidential Employment Stimulus, launched in October 2020, has created over one million work opportunities in less than three years. However, its funding is only confirmed until March 2024. Youth Capital has been advocating for the funding extension through a petition – the 16 000 signatures were submitted to National Treasury ahead of the Midterm Budget Policy Statement in November 2023.
Ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s upcoming State of the Nation Address, journalist Nickolaus Bauer and Youth Capital ask political parties about their strategies to solve youth unemployment, with a specific focus on public employment, support to small businesses and township economies and the relevance of youth skills.
Watch the first discussion here