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Youth agency to engage govt ‘It is unfair to sideline youths from employment because they lack experience. If they don’t have jobs, where are they going to get that experience?’ Staff Reporter
A
t a recent event to mark the start of Youth Month, National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) chairperson Sifiso Mtsweni urged the private sector to employ young graduates. During the event at the Hector Pieterson Memorial in Soweto, he said it is unfair to sideline young graduates from employment because they lack experience. “If they don’t have jobs, where are they going to get that experience?” he said. Mtsweni said the NYDA will robustly engage government and the private sector on the matter. Youth Month 2017 is being commemorated under the theme, The Year of OR Tambo: Advancing Youth Economic Empowerment. Mtsweni said the first order of business for the new NYDA board is to ensure that the agency is accessible to young people all over the country. He added that the NYDA will assist young people to access funding for their own businesses, as the majority struggle
to get funding due to bad credit records. “If you have a bad credit record, you can’t be given a loan to run your business. The NYDA has been running a grant programme for young people and we want to extend that programme to ensure that it reaches as many young people as possible,” said Mtsweni. He called on government to consider increasing the budget of the NYDA, saying that the agency is being well managed. “We have been getting clean audits. Our governance systems are in place and we are going to continue getting clean audits and maintain good governance. However, the good governance and clean audits must be coupled with service delivery, because all the young people need to benefit from this,” he added. Mtsweni said the NYDA wants to launch two funds, including a youth skills funds, where they would get the private sector, government and civil society to invest in young people. Mtsweni said the NYDA is in the
NYDA chairperson Sifiso Mtsweni (left) and Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe
process of finalising an Integrated Youth Development Strategy. The plan is to get all youth formations and student movements to solicit their inputs on the challenges they are facing, particularly at higher learning institutions. Mtsweni used the occasion to call on young people to expose those who abuse children and women in their communities. “As the NYDA we condemn the killing of young women and children. We call on young people to
start being vigilant in this regard. We must expose these perpetrators of violence against women and children,” he added. Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe, who also attended the event, encouraged young people to keep in mind the challenges faced by the country when they choose tertiary courses. “It is important to focus on Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics subjects and also ICT. It is of critical importance that we look at the trends happening around the world.” He added that a recent World Economic Forum report said 60 percent of all children in primary school this year will be in jobs that don’t exist today. “This tells us that the revolution in technology is pacing ahead. Study the courses that will give you an opportunity to compete in the job market,” Radebe said.