Question NW3528 to the Minister in The Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities

Reply:

1. Addressing the youth unemployment challenge requires all of society to intervene. It requires all spheres of government to prioritise the creation business and employment opportunities for the Youth. The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD), plays a coordinating role in the all-of-government intervention particularly as the budget of the DWYPD is not proportional to the scale of the youth unemployment challenge in the Republic.

The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) is part of Project Management Unit (PMU) established by government and placed at The Presidency. Through the PMU, the Presidency, (NYDA), and the DWYPD, are implementing the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) as a response of the sixth administration to impact on jobs and livelihoods. Using direct public investment, the PES supports job creation, job protection, and livelihood support programmes as part of a wider economic recovery progress. The PES has created 1 098 304 work and livelihood opportunities for unemployed South Africans. Of the participants, 84% are youth and 62% are women.

As part of the Employment Stimulus, the Department of Higher Education and Training is supporting a graduate placement programme in 21 universities - because even for graduates, lack of work experience creates barriers to labour market entry. These placements are for work that allows graduates to apply their skills in relation to their field of study, in order to directly enhance relevant work experience. University departments have been invited to create meaningful opportunities for graduates and in so doing increase their research and academic support capacity. 1052 graduates have benefitted from the programme.

The DWYPD also amended its 2023/24 Annual Performance Plan (APP) to include new priorities for implementation with various stakeholders within and outside of government that are aimed at creating jobs for youth, including for the graduates. These initiatives include:

a) SANDF-led National Service (NS) – To address the current state of poverty, idleness, and general economic inactivity among our vulnerable population in general and the youth in particular, the SANDF led NYS programme is being introduced to build the youths’ character, empower them to serve in their communities, inculcate discipline and a sense of patriotism, train youth in leadership and entrepreneurship; and then provide them with technical capacity building in value chain driven sector specific industries with high absorption capacity. The training streams will range from food and agriculture value chain; oceans economy and maritime skills; engineering, manufacturing, and infrastructure development; digital technologies and platform economies; and defense industries, public safety and security stream. The programme participants will be trained to be resilient and self-sustaining and then linked with job opportunities in diverse sectors.

Cabinet has asked us to work with the following Departments who have the financial capacity to support elements of the National Service:

• Department of Higher Education and Training
• Department of Transport
• Department of Forestry Fisheries and environment
• COGTA
• Department of Basic Education
• Department of Employment and Labour
• Department of Human Settlement

b) Integrated Farming Value Chain Cooperatives - To address the key challenges of poverty, weakened livelihoods, hunger, limited or no economic opportunities, little to no income as well as inadequate access to resources contributing to the cycle of poverty, the DWYPD is mobilising women, youth, and persons with disabilities, particularly those in poor rural communities to establish integrated farming value chain cooperatives.

Additionally, the department is also partnering with the CSIR in the development of a national goat commercialization pilot project in all the 9 provinces. The goat farming value chain is identified as an initial focus area, because goat farming in South African has been practised since time immemorial, yet this sector has not been fully exploited for optimal economic value.

We are also working with the Department of Agriculture in implementing this program. We have also approached the Private Sector to support the beneficiaries of the farming value chain cooperatives.

c) Community Micro Bakery Training Projects – DWYPD will provide bakery training for women, youth, and persons with disabilities in some of the poorest districts in local municipalities, so that they can participate in this growing industry in order to reduce the impact of extreme poverty, unemployment, create community wealth, raise household incomes, and restore livelihoods as well as basic socio-economic insecurity. Once trained, the programme participants will be supported to become entrepreneurs thus facilitating their economic self-reliance whilst contributing to an all-of-government’s reconstruction and recovery efforts.

2. The National Treasury is better placed to respond on discussions to legislate job seeking allowances for unemployed graduates who seek employment. This part of the question may be directed to the Ministry of Finance for reply.