Need for youth to be skilled for jobs
EXACTLY 42 years on, after that dreadful day when Hector Pieterson fell at the barrel of the gun, fired by cold-blooded state security racist murderers on June 16 1976, we once again as South Africans this month commemorate that day and events that followed, leading to increased state brutalities on our youth.
What is important with regard to the June month commemoration is to learn from the courage young people had in shaping their destiny, despite the enormous odds arrayed against them.
In 1976 it was about rejecting an education system that sought to oppress them.
Today my appeal and call is to access skills development that would help reverse the systematic marginalisation of our youth, in what others have called a “two-economy” scenario, and afford our youth decent and quality jobs.
As we dedicate this month to the gallant fighters of 1976, we must also dedicate it to our late former ANCYL president, Peter Mokaba, who, during the 1991 re-launch of the Youth League, reminded the youth of the popular notion that in such circumstances they either had to adapt or die.
I’m calling on today’s ANC government, led by a sober leader in Cyril Ramaphosa, to focus more on youth interests such as learnerships, free education, decent jobs and transformation in all sport sectors.
The newly elected ANC leadership must be inspired by the late Moses Mabhida’s insistence that a nation that does not care for its youth forfeits its claim to the future.
However, this does not mean our youth must be complacent, because in the final analysis no one would literally knock on anyone’s door to bring some manna of opportunities on skills development and decent jobs.
The youth of today must knock on every door to guarantee their own success, not knock on tavern doors.
I thank the youth of 1976 for their historic and heroic struggles.
I’m calling on the young people today to declare boldly that the struggle is not over and continue to trust the ANC.