Employment Opportunities for Youth: NYDA; National Youth Policy: DPME report

Public Service and Administration

07 June 2017
Chairperson: Ms R Lesoma (ANC) (Acting)
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Meeting Summary

The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) briefed the Committee on the progress and challenges regarding the implementation of the National Youth Policy (NYP) 2020, and the new board of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) gave a broad overview of the strategies it was implementing to enhance youth development.

The Youth Directorate of the DPME described the progress and challenges regarding the implementation of the National Youth Policy (NYP) 2020. The main challenges were data gaps in the monitoring and evaluation framework, the lack of obligation to national, provincial and local government departments to budget for, or implement, NYP 2020 and the lack of youth focal point structures in government departments. However, the DPME had proposed a National Youth Development Act, and youth desks had been established across the three spheres of government.

The newly constituted NYDA board said that although the outgoing board had focused on restoring the image of the Agency, it had neglected the youths. The new board would address the challenges facing youths and ensure that their voice was heard. It would not ‘rock the boat,’ but ensure that it retained the strategies that could work and discard those that did not work. It would work on correcting the negative perception of the NYDA being a desk agency.

The Committee pledged its support for the newly constituted NYDA board, but advised that it had to ‘rock the boat’ to fulfil its mandates. It urged the NYDA to look into the Wage Bill, to consider ways of doubling its 15 branches across the country, and to collaborate with the School of Governance and other relevant stakeholders on its entrepreneurship training programmes. It was asked to explain why 50% of its budget was expended on salaries, and whether it had appointed consultants to carry out its programmes. They requested information on the backlog of funding applications for its education and skills acquisition programmes for young people, and to clarify if the political party membership cards of young people who applied for entrepreneurship grant funds played a role in securing the funds.

The Committee observed that government departments had challenges due to the duplication of mandates. It asked the DPME to clarify if it had any preliminary reports on the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) appeals, and whether it had the capacity to establish a youth directorate. It asked the DPME to describe what the drug abuse strategy entailed because of the prevalence of ‘nyaope’ and ‘tik,’ and whether it had data on drug abuse in each province. 

Meeting report

Committee matters

The Chairperson presented apologies from the Minister for Public Service and Administration, Ms Faith Muthambi, and the Minister for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr Jeff Radebe.

Members were asked to consider the minutes of May 24.

Mr S Motau (DA) made minor corrections in clause 2.7. The motion for adoption of the minutes was moved by Ms Z Jongbloed (DA) and seconded by Mr S Mncwabe (NFP). The minutes were adopted.

Briefing by Youth Directorate, DPME

Dr Bernice Hlagala, Director: Youth Directorate, DPME, said the purpose of the brief was to appraise the Committee on the progress and challenges regarding the implementation of the National Youth Policy (NYP) 2020. She gave a brief background of the NYP 2020, the hindrances in implementing it, the key developments and key focus areas of the policy, and the expected outcomes. She highlighted the achievements in the areas of skills development and second chances, health care and combating substance abuse, nation building and social cohesion, and the optimisation of youth development machinery.

The main challenges of the NYP 2020 were data gaps in the monitoring and evaluation framework, the lack of obligation to national, provincial and local government departments to budget for, or implement, NYP 2020 and the lack of youth focal point structures in departments. However, the DPME had proposed a National Youth Development Act, and youth desks had been established across the three spheres of government.

The DPME recommended that the Committee should note that the implementation of the NYP 2020 was the responsibility of government departments across all spheres, the NYDA, community service organisations and the private sector. It should also note observations in the monitoring report for the NYP 2020. She asked the Committee to advocate the allocation of adequate financial resources for youth development and capacity creation in the form of youth directorates.

The Chairperson asked Members to wait for the second briefing before interrogating the delegations.

Briefing by NYDA

The Chairperson observed that even though the Members of the Committee were older than NYP’s recommended youth age of 35, they worked as a team and not as different political parties. She advised the NYDA board chairperson and his team to bring in new energy in order to fulfil all their policies before the next elections.

Mr Sifiso Mtsweni, Chairperson: NYDA board, said that the NYDA had recently appointed board members, and they were presently meeting to approve the national strategic plan. The outgoing board had had to restore the image of the NYDA, and had neglected the youths. However, the new board would focus more on the youths and address such issues as the inadequate NYDA offices in the provinces, assist in making the Agency more visible by increasing the provincial offices, encourage departments to invest more in skills development funds, ensure that departmental funds for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) for youth development schemes were well utilised, and ensure that the voice of the youths were heard through the NYDA. The Board was not interested in ‘rocking the boat’ or changing good policies, but would work on new ideas to ensure that the NYDA achieved its mandates. In addition, the NYDA would hold all stakeholders accountable to ensure that its mandates were fulfilled.

Ms Bavelile Hlongwa, Deputy Chairperson: NYDA board asked the Committee to support the NYDA’s efforts to implement new ideas that would strengthen it and empower young people. The new board would work on countering the negative perception of the NYDA being a desk agency, and said that it would hold all relevant stakeholders accountable, based on the NYDA Act.

Discussion

Mr S Mncwabe (NFP) acknowledged the energy of the new NYDA board and its vision, and said that the Committee would assist it to fulfil its mandates.

Mr S Motau (DA) asked the board to disabuse its mind from not ‘rocking the boat’, as it had to ‘rock the boat’ to fulfil its mandates. He also pledged the support of the Committee in assisting it to fulfil its mandates.

Ms Z Jongbloed (DA) agreed with Mr Motau’s submission on not ‘rocking the boat’. She also agreed with Ms Hlongwa’s comments on removing the negative perception of the NYDA being a desk agency, and pledged the support of the Committee.

Mr M Ntombela (ANC) expressed happiness that the board had indicated it would hold all stakeholders accountable. He advised the NYDA to look into the Wage Bill, and also to look at ways of doubling its 15 branches across the country.

Ms W Newhoudt-Druchem (ANC) remarked that the NYDA had a lot to achieve in the youth sector based on its mandate, and wished the new board good luck.

The Chairperson remarked that the 2017/18 annual performance plan (APP) of the NYDA had already been approved, but advised the newly appointed board to note that there were robust processes to follow in effecting changes in the five-year APP. It had to ensure that its programmes addressed the National Development Plan (NDP) and consider the impact of the digital revolution in achieving its mandates. She also advised the board not to fight among themselves. The NYDA should collaborate with the School of Governance and other relevant stakeholders on its entrepreneurship training programmes.

Mr Khathutshelo Ramukumba, Chief Executive Officer (CEO): NYDA, highlighted the strategies used to develop the economic capacity of youths in the 2017/18 financial year. These were focused on education and skills, research and policy, partnerships and stakeholder management, and communication of information and advisory services. He also indicated the budget performance on key indicators of the NYDA programmes. The number of young people receiving assistance was limited due to the funds allocated, and he solicited the support of the Committee to do more.

Highlights of the achievements of the NYDA programmes to young people included the Solomon Mahlangu scholarship, grants to cooperatives, individuals and enterprises, and the distribution of grants and support to aspiring and established entrepreneurs. The NYDA had invited Statistics South Africa to provide data on the challenges facing young people for planning purposes.

Discussion

Mr Mncwabe observed that government departments had challenges due to the duplication of mandates. He advised the NYDA to assist Matric students with job preparation in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education (DBE), and also to engage with Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) to assist with funding youth entrepreneurship programmes. Although the NYDA was performing its mandates well it was not using the right platforms to communicate its achievements. He was happy that the board would be increasing its NYDA offices in each Province.

Mr Motau remarked that the negative perception on the image of NYDA was a reality, and advised the board to intensify its efforts to correct it.

Ms Jongbloed  asked the DPME to clarify what the drug abuse strategy entailed as a result of the prevalence of ‘nyaope’ and ‘tik.’ Did the DPME have data on drug abuse in each province, and what criteria were used to collate the data? She asked the NYDA to explain why 50% of its budget was expended on salaries, and to clarify if it had appointed consultants to carry out its programmes, and the cost associated with this. She asked the NYDA to clarify if it had a backlog of funding applications for its education and skills acquisition programmes for young people, and also to state the time-frame for getting responses on funding applications.

Ms D van der Walt (DA) asked the NYDA to state the criteria for applying for entrepreneurship grant funds.

Ms Jongbloed asked the NYDA to clarify if the party membership card of young people who applied for entrepreneurship grant funds played a role in securing the funds.

Mr M Ntombela (ANC) asked the DPME to state the issues and challenges at the National Student Financial Assistance Scheme (NSFAS) in the areas of information technology (IT) systems and administrative insufficiency, and also to clarify if the DPME had any preliminary reports on NSFAS regarding students that had not been treated fairly. He asked the DPME and NYDA if capacity was available to establish a youth directorate, and state the target areas for teacher training. He asked the NYDA to elaborate on second chance opportunities for matriculating students, and also whether it had collaborated with other province’s universities to offer postgraduate technical and vocational education and training (TVET) qualifications. How did the NYDA instil patriotism in youths?

Ms Newhoudt-Druchem observed that that the data obtained from Statistics South Africa on youths living with physical challenges was disappointing, and asked the DPME to come up with detailed statistics in its next brief. She asked the NYDA to elaborate more on its programmes for youths living with physical challenges, and to explain why youths in Gauteng were offered more Solomon Mahlangu scholarships than those in other provinces. She advised the NYDA to offer training on software development for youths.

The Chairperson asked the NYDA board to explain how it would phase out the negative perceptions surrounding it, and to state the role of the relevant Skills Training Education Authorities (SETAs) on youth development. She asked the NYDA to give statistics on how many small business enterprises it had mentored in the past two years, and to clarify if it had monitored them to ascertain if this had reduced unemployment. She asked the DPME why it had not presented statistics on making a difference in the life of the youths, and to state the strategies it used to interface societal cohesion with societal behavioural changes in youths. What strategies did the NYDA intend to use in inculcating life skills to matriculating students in all of the nine provinces? How did it intend to partner with collaborators as a result of the challenges faced after the ‘fees must fall’ strike? In addition, she asked the NYDA to elaborate on its programmes that were focused on rural areas.

DPME response

Dr Hlagala said that a report on the appeal process of NSFAS was being collated, and the DPME would present written responses to the Committee when it was completed. She agreed that there was duplication of activities within the DPME, but said that this was been addressed in the integrated youth development strategy that was being finalised. The matriculating students’ rewrite programme had been transferred to the Department of Basic Education (DBE), and incentives for teachers included scholarship for learners and encouraging learners to pursue university programmes instead of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college programmes.

She noted the Committee’s suggestion to look beyond learning the national anthem and soliciting for behavioural changes, and made a commitment to present the Committee with adequate statistics on making a difference in the lives of the youths. The DPME was already designing the structures to put in place for norms and standards of youth directorates.

NYDA response

Mr  Ramukumba noted the advice to engage with the DSBD to assist with the funding of youth entrepreneurship programmes, but indicated that due to the limited funds and prioritisation under the past board, the NYDA had attempted to prevent drug abuse only by visiting schools to explain the danger of drug abuse ,in collaboration with the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SANCA) and South African Breweries (SAB). The NYDA had not embarked on strategies to combat drug abuse.

The NYDA would evaluate the success of all programmes in the same way that it had evaluated the success of the grant funding programme, and present the report to the Committee when it was finalised. The NYDA rarely used consultants, but consultants had been used to evaluate the grant funding programme to ensure that the data obtained was objective.

He confirmed that the NYDA had a backlog of applications for funding, so the response on financial assistance given to youths would be sent to Committee in writing. He indicated that the process for publication of the name of youths that received grants and the criteria was been strengthened and would presented on the NYDA website. The NYDA was working on placing youths in internship programmes in NYDA local offices, but it did not have programmes that specifically addressed youths who were physically challenged, and the the new Board would be engaged on the issue.

The NYDA had not engaged in training on information communications technology (ICT), but would undertake ICT programs soon The Solomon Mahlangu (SM) Scholarship applications were university-based, and as Gauteng had more universities, more candidates from Gauteng were able to access the scholarship. He appreciated the comment on SETAs, but said that the NYDA was presently collaborating with the construction SETAs, and would soon start collaborations with the local government SETA.

He said the Chairperson’s suggestions on mentorships had been noted, and made a commitment to work on them. The NYDA was collaborating with the provincial Department of Arts and Culture in a programme called “Young Patriots” to ensure that Youths understood the meaning of flags and symbols and the national anthem.

The Chairperson interjected and remarked that the training should involve not only learning the meaning of flags and symbols and the national anthem, but should also ensure that societal behavioural changes were entrenched in youths. She asked the NYDA to clarify if blacklisted youths would be able to receive entrepreneurship grants, and mandated it to pay more attention to programmes that would assist physically challenged youths.

Ms Nthuseng Mphahlele, Executive Director: Operations, NYDA, said that people between the ages of 18 and 35 who had a knowledge of trading could receive entrepreneurship grants, but candidates who wanted to trade in sex articles, tobacco and liquor could not access the grants. The NYDA had addressed the issue of blacklisting people from receiving entrepreneurship grants. The statistics to address benefits in terms of gender and physically challenged youths were being generated and would be presented to the Committee when finalised.

The Chairperson asked the NYDA to use local and international road shows to add value to its activities. In addition, because the priority of the Committee and NYDA was on youths, she advised it to regulate youth liquor entrepreneurs.

Ms Hlongwa indicated that the youths had an association for responsible drinking, so the NYDA could not debar youth liquor entrepreneurs from receiving entrepreneurship funds. The NYDA had been formed to develop youths, so the funding criteria for entrepreneurs were not based on political party membership. It would engage with the DPME to draft the policy required for youth directorates, and the board would communicate the Agency’s achievements through the relevant channels to ensure that the negative perception of it was changed. She had noted the point about adding value through local and international road shows, and made a commitment to address all comments and questions of the Committee. The new board would forge memorandums of understanding with SETAs, departments and the Committee, and would ensure that it presented reports on NSFAS appeals to the Committee.

Mr Mtsweni said that the board would act on the advice of the Committee, and explained that the point about not ‘rocking the boat’ had been made to show that it would keep the strategies that had worked and remove those that had not worked. The new board was serious about having a clean audit and entrenching good governance, and by the end of its administration all youths would have access to NYDA centres and would be able to state that the Agency had been of assistance to them al.

The board would put in place strategies to communicate the NYDA’s outputs and also combat drug abuse. In addition, it would establish more branches in each province with the current budgets, and would engage with the DBE on the curriculum of primary and secondary level learners on the issue of drivers’ licences and other life skills. It would engage with all youth formations in the month of June, and the inputs would be included in the integrative youth policy. He concluded by asking for the Committee’s support in organising conferences to address youth unemployment.

The Chairperson commented that the road shows should also address issues of women’s abuse.

Ms Newhoudt-Druchem requested a written response on the location of the existing 15 branches of the provincial NYDA offices.

The Chairperson asked the NYDA to assist Members with soft copies of reports that the Committee had earlier requested, and asked the DPME to send reports on areas of oversight that the Minister of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation had not visited, especially the frontline offices in the Free State..

Dr Ntsiki Tshayingca-Mashiya: Deputy Director General: Frontline and Citizen-Based Monitoring, DPME asked for clarification on the reports to be submitted to the Committee.

The Chairperson asked her to liaise with the Committee Secretary.

She asked Members to fill the tracking form to ensure that matters were addressed appropriately. The Committee Researcher was asked to inform the Committee on the draft programme for the oversight visit to the Free State, and asked Members to confirm their availability.

The meeting was adjourned.

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