Question NW2107 to the Minister of Social Development

Reply:

a) i) The purpose of the Annual Youth camp offered by the National Department of Social Development is to:

The purpose of annual Youth Camp is to empower youth by providing them with necessary employment, entrepreneurial and lifeskills. The Department provide these these interventions through partnerships with other government departments such as Department of Defence and Military Veterans, Department of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities, Youth organizations, youth structures and other relevant stakeholders. Youth are identified through DSD Youth Mobilisation programmes and are mobilized from different races, ethnicity, gender, class and language from all nine provinces. The Youth Camps are aimed at promoting national identity, nation building, social cohesion, patriotism and active citizenry under various themes each year. The camps present an environment where young people are moulded, guided and skilled to enhance their sense of responsibility and maximise their individual and collective energies for personal development as well as development of the broader society. Within the programme, young people are engaged in dialogues on topical issues that affect them and their communities, with a view of identifying root causes and identify strategic solutions to address the youth challenges.

(ii) The impact of the Annual National Youth Camp in the lives of the youth,

The impact of Youth Camps has been enormous in the sense that majority of Youth who participated in the DSD Youth Camps are involved in community development through running of the NPOs and their businesses contributing towards development of communities and building and strengthening of social cohesive communities. The department is also currently conducting a study on the ‘Design and Implementation Evaluation of youth camps’: DSD Camp model’. The study is scheduled to end in the second quarter of the financial year 2022/2023 and it will provide the department with a clear picture of the impact made by the Youth Camps and once the report is ready it will be shared with the Members as the report will identify and profile some of Youth that have participated in the Youth Camps and are making some impact in their respective areas of development.

b) How are the youth who participate identified?

The Youth camp participants are made of the youth from all the nine provinces. A youth criterion is generated to identify youth according to age, gender, race, disability, demographic location to ensure the balance concerning the participation of youth. The Youth come through the District Camp engagement per province, and Provincial Camps per province. At the District level, Youth are identified through Youth Mobilisation programmes by looking at their active participation and engagement with the programmes and their willingness to contribute towards eradication of the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequalities especially as it affects the young people.

(c) What are the details of the involvement of the provinces in the national youth camps.

The Department has build-up camps first at District level that culminate into the Provincial Youth Camps. From the Provincial Camps, then the Youth will be taken to the National Youth Camps through submission of their names to National Department by the provinces.

(3) whether she will furnish Ms A L A Abrahams with a list of (a) facilities that were used to host the youth camps in the past 10 years, (b) catering service providers that were used for the specified period and (c)(i) all other service providers used, indicating service that was rendered by each in the specified period; if not, why not in each case; if so, on what date?

Response:

(a) Facilities that were used to host the youth camps in the past 10 years,

The Department has in the main used the Department of Defence and Military Veterans facilities as it had a partnership with the Department.

(b) Catering service providers that were used for the specified period and

The catering service providers in the main it was the Department of Defence and Military, who provided an all inclusive list of services.

(c) (i) all other service providers used, indicating service that was rendered by each in the specified period; if not, why not in each case; if so, on what date

The service providers used where mainly government departments and agencies (NDA, NYDA) rendering training on various aspects such as entrepreneurial and leadership skills. Other service providers included providers for promotional and training materials as well as facilitators.