Boost for eThekwini youth

ANC Youth League (ANCYL) members cheered loudly when they were told at the weekend that eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede will set aside 40% of municipal positions for young people.

The announcement was made on behalf of Gumede by eThekwini regional executive committee member Zinhle Cele at a dialogue on economic transformation in KwaMashu, north of Durban.

Gumede told the eThekwini regional lekgotla last week that she had instructed municipal officials to give 40% of positions to young people.

Cele did not, however, elaborate on how that 40% would be allocated.

ANCYL eThekwini chairperson Thembo Ntuli said the young people of eThekwini should jealously protect their jobs in the municipality and not allow people from outside the region to take them.

Ntuli said that in order to make sure that the 40% figure is implemented in the municipality, there should be a youth development unit in the area.

This should be led by members of the ANCYL, “not just young people in the street, but those who understand the challenges of young people in the country”.

He said the municipality would have to allocate R1 billion to the structure, which he saw as taking charge of developing young people to enter business.

“Young people must lead. They must be the ones who are employed in those posts.”

He said the ANCYL would fight to abolish the minimum experience requirement for junior posts and positions of deputy managers.

ANCYL eThekwini spokesperson Thulisa Ndlela said the league wanted R1bn to be allocated not to different departments of the municipality, but for it “to be sent where it can be monitored as a single unit”.

He said the function of the youth development unit would be explained in a document, which had not yet been released for public consumption as it was still with the youth league and the ANC.

“It will explain how the unit will achieve the mandate,” Ndlela said.

“The unit will be mostly to capacitate young people in the economy to deal with social ills, and to form partnerships with the private sector to help young people play meaningful roles in the involvement with private sector businesses such as the ocean economy,” Ndlela added.