Hansard: JS: Unrevised hansard

House: Joint (NA + NCOP)

Date of Meeting: 11 Jun 2015

Summary

No summary available.

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Minutes

THURSDAY, 11 JUNE 2015

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PROCEEDINGS AT JOINT SITTING

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Members of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces assembled in the Chamber of the National Assembly at 14:01.

 

The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayer or meditation.

 

JOINT SITTING-DEBATE ON YOUTH DAY

 

Dr C P MULDER: Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: The debate today is a Joint Sitting to commemorate Youth Day. It is not a party motion and it is not a member motion. It is a debate on behalf of the Parliament of South Africa. Therefore, we had a discussion in the Chief Whips Forum in which we indicated that today’s debate has a partisan topic.

 

I understand that the Freedom Charter means a lot to the ruling party and to some other parties as well, but the fact of the matter is, it is a political document, which does not necessarily present the views of all members and parties in South Africa.

 

We understand the importance of the Freedom Charter and we were reasonable and suggested in the discussion that other things like the Constitution and the National Development Plan be included in the debate. Despite our request in that regard, it was simply ignored and we are debating a party-political document of the ruling party.

 

I think it is unfortunate and sends the wrong message. This is a Joint Sitting, celebrating Youth Day. It is not a party or a member statement for today.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, the point is noted. That matter was discussed in the Programming Committee this morning. If the meeting didn’t arrive at a different view, we proceed. 

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: We noted the concern of all parties that feel offended by the Freedom Charter. However, it was too late for us to change the topic, because it is a Joint Sitting. [Interjections.] I really don’t shout at you when you speak, I listen to you. We agreed that after this debate, as a Joint Sitting between the NA and the NCOP, we will bring the Freedom Charter before this House for this House to adopt it formally. [Applause.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, hon members!

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Hon Speaker, I want to make it very clear.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: What point are you rising on?

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Chairperson, on a point of order: I am rising on the same point of order that you have allowed the Chief Whip to rise on. We certainly have not come to an agreement that the Freedom Charter be brought here for adoption. The DA placed on record again at the Programming Committee meeting ... There was supposed to be a bilateral afterwards, but that bilateral consisted of us being told, tough luck, it can’t be changed.

 

I do however want to say and want it on record again - this is also something that has been raised consistently - look around you at the Joint Sitting today, this is how seriously Joint Sittings are taken. I want that borne in mind when we programme Joint Sittings. The attendance is less than 30%.

 

The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: Deputy Speaker, hon members, every year we commemorate the radical actions that were undertaken by the youth of 16 June 1976 to remind ourselves of the innate power that young people have to change the world, to confront the circumstances that keep them shackled in chains, denying them their freedom and to celebrate the role that they played in awakening the struggle against apartheid. This year is no different. The youth are moving South Africa forward.

 

We do this because our history and our young people matter in making us realise the potential that our country possesses to be a great and united nation that will never repeat the ugliness of the apartheid system, for which we were known by the world.

 

The commemoration of June 16, which was led by young giants such as Tsietsi Mashinini, Khotso Seatlholo, Murphy Morobe, Seth Mazibuko, Billy Masetlha, Super Moloi, Daniel Montsitsi, Sibongile Mthembu Mkhabela, Paul Langa and Hector Pieterson, together with many others should forever remain a motivation to thousands of young people that they hold their destiny in their own hands and no one will liberate them.

 

Their efforts have paid off and we had the election of a democratic government that cares for its youth and has placed youth development at the centre of its programme.

 

Daily negative messaging cannot refute the evidence that the life of a young person born 21 years ago, in 1994, is better off than those who were born before. Unlike their parents, they are not required to carry passes around, not forced to learn substandard education in a language imposed on them, are the recipients of a decent meal in school, have the prospects of going to a Technical and Vocational Education and Training, TVET, college or university that is fully funded by the state, will not be forced to leave certain areas at certain times through influx control and have theoretically an equal chance to make it in life.

 

As the ANC, we do not regard these young people as being born-free because the shackles that bound their parents are still imprinted in their lives and will take generations and a concerted effort to change, instead of mere one-liners and unquotable rabble-rousing quotes, as some would want us to believe.

 

This administration has taken the needs, interests and aspirations of young people to heart. President Jacob Zuma has placed the task of youth development in his office and has made it the responsibility of each and every national, provincial and local government department and all state agencies to put youth development at the centre of their work.

 

Last year, when we commenced with the consultations that led to the National Youth Policy 2020, a young girl from Diepsloot Secondary School shouted from the back of the hall protesting against the economisation of the challenges of young people. She protested that not all young people aspire all these fancy things that their leaders and parents have been talking about. She declared that all what teenagers her age want to do is to play.

 

By playing, she implied that she wants to be a musician, an artist or a sporting athlete. She wants to have the freedom to play netball or chess in a safe environment where she would not be a potential victim of rape or be induced into the life of prostitution, drugs and alcohol.

 

By playing she meant that she wants to be given the opportunity and facilities for recreation so that she does not become another statistic amongst the millions infected by HIV/Aids or be pregnant at an early age and dependent on some sugar daddy.

 

We want to play, she declared. She saw herself in a classroom having equal resources like any other young person in the country, irrespective of their colour or gender. She wants to be able to succeed without objective conditions, limiting her own development.

When she said she wants to play, she meant that she wants access to books through a library so that she can read and open up a new world full of possibilities, as seen through the eyes of the writer. She wants to flip through the books of history and learn about Mandela, Ghandi, Verwoerd and Suzman and the role that they have played to make this country better or worse.

 

Having equal opportunities to acquire skills and knowledge about a trade or becoming an entrepreneur in order to break the cycle of poverty that binds her to her family or her community is what playing meant to her. She wanted access to information and technology that will allow her to socially interact with her peers, to understand their culture, their perspective, their language, their history, their food and to know where they from. She wants to connect with them as human beings and does not want to see them as people from across the border.

 

She probably saw herself as the future captain of Banyana Banyana or as a senior executive of a mining company that will contribute in building a prosperous society.

 

The freedom to play in the way that this Diepsloot girl dreamt of is the freedom that Hector Peterson and many others sacrificed or were denied. They had no other freedoms except the limited ones that were served on the platter of the white minority rule. Hector and many others could not be kwaito stars or score runs on the cricket field, because the law would not permit them to do so.

 

Thus, the freedom we should think of for the youth of this country should be the freedom to play, to dream and to be able to pursue or realise those dreams, irrespective of their colour or gender.

 

The main intention of the National Youth Policy 2020 is exactly that, to allow young people to be able to realise their potential, by providing them with a hand-up, to eradicate the hurdles that were imposed by our history and to use state power to develop their lives for the better.

 

However, the Diepsloot girl also understands that this freedom to play came with enormous responsibilities. She understands that she cannot waste her future by overindulging her rights without taking responsibility for her actions.

 

Those who were born in 1994 comprehend what it means to have access to education. They also understand that they have the responsibility to study hard and pass.

 

If they are given a study loan or a bursary, not only do they have a responsibility to work for their country, but also to contribute back into the National Student Financial Aid Scheme so that more students have access to higher and further education.

 

Mr N F SHIVHAMBU: Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: My apologies for having to stop the session. Our speakers from the NCOP are not on the speakers’ list. When we told the chief Whip of the NCOP that they must include our speakers, she said that she cannot do it. We understand that you are the majority, but don’t abuse us. [Interjections.] All of us here have the right to speak in this Parliament. When there is a Joint Sitting, there must be representatives of all political parties, not of one political party only. Can you please deal with that immediately and urgently, before we proceed with anything, so that all of us contribute to this debate. [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Shivhambu, please attend to that outside this meeting.

 

Mr N F SHIVHAMBU: Deputy Speaker, I was there. She is refusing. She said that she cannot do it.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Please, do that. You cannot do that here in the House.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Deputy Speaker, it is very much a matter of privilege and we must deal with it in this House. Our speakers are being denied the opportunity to participate in the debate in the manner in which they are represented in that legislature. Now, that is a very serious matter. It is the first time that happens in a Joint Sitting. Frankly, it is a matter for you to deal with as a presiding officer. We are not going to sit outside and beg for our constitutional right to be represented in the NCOP. [Applause.] I am not going to beg for that. I would like a ruling from you, Sir.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The ruling is that members go and resolve that matter. Whips that are here must go and resolve it outside. It is a bad precedent and I do not agree with you that this matter must be ... I am giving an instruction that members in the Whippery go and resolve it. Don’t come in here if it is not resolved.

 

Mr N F SHIVHAMBU: Deputy Speaker, we have been outside.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, do it now.

 

Mr N F SHIVHAMBU: The person who represents the ANC says that we cannot include names. What kind of Parliament is this? [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, please go outside and deal with this matter. Proceed, hon member. [Interjections.]

Mr M N PAULSEN: Deputy Speaker, do you think that we should continue while our members ... [Inaudible.] ... and miss the debate?

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, hon member. Take your seat, we are proceeding. [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: Our rights, as enshrined in the Constitution, our right to life, to health, to work, to do business, to an education, to sports and recreation and various other liberties come with huge responsibilities.

 

These responsibilities include making a contribution towards an united, nonsexist, nonracist and democratic society, a future South Africa where all live together with total disregard of our race or gender.

 

The Presidential Working Group on Youth represents a giant step by the President to take further work that has been done for the last 21 years, to change the quality of life of young people and allow them to play. This Presidential Working Group on Youth, together with a task team of 17 Deputy Ministers, will not only ensure that the National Youth Policy is implemented, but will also ensure that youth development becomes the business of everyone in government, civil society, business and in all our communities.

 

We have listened to young people, through the consultative process of the National Youth Policy 2020, who called upon government to accelerate action in terms of jobs, education, skills development, support for youth businesses and the fight against drugs and substance abuse.

 

Thus, the Presidential Working Group on Youth has instructed us to accelerate the implementation of the Youth Employment Accord, and many other government policies in responding to the challenges facing young people.

 

In this regard, we will immediately target the finalisation of the National Youth Service Framework, and seek to recruit more than 1 million young people into a National Youth Service within the next two years.

We will lobby for additional funding for youth businesses and co-operatives as an add-on to the R2,7 billion allocated by the Industrial Development Corporation, IDC, and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency, SEFA, together with the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA.

 

We will work with business to ensure that more young people are exposed to workplace skills programmes, internships and we will also review the progress made through the youth employment incentives, in order to ensure that we take care of the more than 240 000 unemployed graduates.

 

We will work with young people to protect our communities, schools, universities, playgrounds and streets and bring to book criminals who traffic drugs in these areas. However, in the overall, we will be mobilising young people to get involved, take action and change South African for the better and not be passive bystanders, waiting for things to happen for us.

 

We have also listened to them when they demanded change in the manner in which the NYDA operates and provides youth development services. In this regard, for the first time in years, the NYDA has received an unqualified audit from the Auditor-General. [Applause.]

 

The new NYDA board has taken the services of the NYDA to young people by opening 240 local youth offices nationally, which in the last financial year, have served 1,2 million young people, with the prospect of more offices being opened in this financial year, including the office that opened this Saturday in Gauteng, in Eldorado Park.

 

They have provided R29 million in grant funding to more than 1 043 young people, yielding 4 347 direct jobs. For us, this is hope in action.

 

Through the Business Development Services Voucher programme, the NYDA has empowered and uplifted more than 62 000 young entrepreneurs in the last financial year and have given career guidance to close to a million young people, countrywide. For us, this is hope in action.

 

Close to 4 000 young people got a second chance last year after having failed their matric. They were integrated into the NYDA’s Second Chance programme. Today, their lives will be changed for the better. For us, this is hope in action.

 

An amount of 300 more are beneficiaries of the NYDA Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship, which was launched by the President and many more will be covered through initiatives of partnering with the private sector, in this regard. For us, this is hope in action.

 

All of these will be expanded with the additional R37 million that will be saved from the reorganisation of the NYDA, which will be implemented from the beginning of July. The NYDA, indeed, remains a catalyst for youth development and has restored hope through action in the lives of millions of young people.

 

Therefore, we will never ever listen to people who say that the NYDA should be closed down, because it has reached out to more young people than some of the political parties that are represented in this House.

Yes, there are challenges; yes, 1 in 3 young people are unemployed; yes, more than 2,5 million young people are idling and are not economically active; yes, teenage pregnancy and drug and alcohol abuse statistics remain scary; yes, more and more young people are trapped in the poverty cycle that was given birth to due to the long years of the ugliness of the apartheid system.

 

These are the issues that give us sleepless nights and motivate us to do more, together with the youth of our country. We are inspired that, although some may prophesy gloom and doom, but at the end of the horizon, we see hope in the eyes of the youth. At the end, they too, will be able to play in the sunshine, just as the girl from Diepsloot dreams to. To the millions of young people out there, ...

 

... uzoyithola kanjani uhleli ekhoneni? [... how will you get assistance if you don’t take action?]

 

Join the action. Let us change South Africa, let us move our country forward. I thank you. [Applause.]

 

Ms T STANDER: Mehlomadala, Somlomo. [It’s been a while, Speaker.] While walking through Thubalethu village near King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape, I came across a scene that I often find during constituency visits: four young people sitting at home. Three young ladies: one cooking isidudu [porridge], one tending to a toddler probably two years old, another watching TV and a young man playing with his cellphone. In discussing their challenges I learned that one of them had dropped out of school so that she could look after her two-year-old child because there is no community crèche.

 

Another shared that with HIV it was difficult to take her medication because there was no community clinic and often she had no food. The other two said that they were looking for work, but couldn’t find any jobs. I asked how they spend their days and the young man replied: “What we are doing now: just sitting”. I saw young people with little independence and impugned dignity. The late Harry Schwartz said: “Freedom is incomplete if it is exercised in poverty.”

 

Young people may have political freedoms, but these freedoms are meaningless in a vacuum of opportunity. There are many vacuums of opportunity for young people in our country and higher education is no exception. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, is in a state of disarray, denying talented, hardworking and capable youth of opportunities.

 

There is a young man in Daveyton, Gauteng, who completed his first year of study successfully at the Tshwane University of Technology on NSFAS funding in 2011. He was studying information technology, IT, and passed all his subjects with good grades. However, when he applied to renew his funding for a second year, the NSFAS offices told him that they were too busy processing applications for next year’s students and that he would have to come back at a later stage. He went back and queued no less than 12 times, only to be told that there was no funding for him. He was forced to drop out. What is he doing now? Just sitting. Is this the only future that young people have to look forward to in South Africa? No, it is not.

 

In a society characterised by freedom, fairness and opportunity, he would have had the opportunity to complete his studies. We don’t want our young people to be just sitting at home. Our young people should be able to live in a country where you are able to fulfil your dreams, regardless of the circumstances of your birth.

 

Imagine having the best education today to develop your talents so that you can make discoveries or build companies that will make our country great tomorrow. Imagine having reliable, accessible health care that looks after you when you are sick. Imagine having Internet access and electricity to tap into the world of knowledge and ace that assignment or exam. Imagine feeling safe to walk home after a day of learning or work because we have enough, well-trained police and a functional justice system. Imagine having confidence in your opportunities so you don’t need to turn to drugs.

 

Imagine a united South Africa, no matter the colour of your skin, the language you speak, your faith or your sexual orientation. Imagine being able to succeed in life because of your talents and hard work and not because of the circumstances of your birth. Imagine this for our children one day, the youth of South Africa.

If you invested R1 000 in 1994, depending on your choice you could either have almost R20 000 or nothing in the bank today. The same applies to investing in a political party. When you deposit your vote on the ballot, you need to review your choice after five years. And if you are not satisfied, you have the choice to choose an alternative.

 

After 21 years of investment in the ANC, we have unprecedented corruption, higher unemployment, greater inequality, increased poverty with nothing but excuses and an ANC president who laughs at us from this very spot. [Interjections.] The ANC government currently has the future of young people in their hands, but they are using those hands to strangle that future. It’s time to invest in a new offer: the DA’s Values Charter where you will have the freedom, fairness and opportunity to realise your hopes and dreams. [Applause.] It is only through this Values Charter that we can return to our founding vision of a nonracial society in which people feel valued, free and equal by their government and each other.

 

We cannot accept the ANC’s continual, divisive, racially charged rhetoric, as characterised by the hon Radebe last night. Hon Radebe, I am an African and so is every young person in this country. [Applause.] South Africa can be the greatest country in the world. We have the resources, woven through our earth. We have you, the tapestry of talent and diversity. All we need is the vision and leadership. Dreamers, innovators, movers and shakers, we are one nation with one future and you are that future. The youth of South Africa can bank on the DA because we are banking on you. I thank you. [Applause.]

 

Mr N F SHIVAMBU: Thank you very much, Deputy Speaker. You know the globally accepted definition of youth, hon Manamela, is people who are in transition from childhood dependence to adulthood independence. In that transition they need access to education, they need access to health care, they need access to land, they need access to information, they need access to economic opportunities, they need access to sporting and recreational facilities, and they need access to arts and cultural activities. Now the transition in South Africa is longer than normal.

 

I know the Constitution, and when we were in the youth movement we used to say that the youth are those between the ages of 14 and 35, meaning that when you turn 35 you are no longer a youth. But the transition in South Africa from childhood dependence to adulthood independence is much longer, because the majority of our people do not have access to basic opportunities and to education opportunities. There were fewer than 300 000 spaces available at first-year level in all the technical and vocational education and training colleges and institutions of higher learning this year. But the system at secondary level had produced more than a million children who needed access to education. That includes those who wrote matric and those who dropped out of the system at the different levels.

 

Where are they going to go? Where is the rest going to go? What kind of a government does not take care of its youth? Now, the EFF, to commemorate the youth of 1976, will be launching the EFF Students’ Command between 14 June and 16 June at the University of Limpopo, Turfloop Campus, where we are in control as the Students’ Representative Council, SRC. We are going to be launching the Students’ Command because we want to inspire new hope in the student population of our country in that you can have a radical militant student formation which will represent your interests. We are also building on the many successes that we have already recorded in all the Students’ Representative Council elections that have happened this year.

 

As a matter of fact, the EFF is in control of the SRC at the Vhembe Technical and Vocational Education and Training, TVET, College; at the Makwarela TVET College; at the Seshego TVET College; at the Tshwane North TVET College; at the Tshwane University of Technology, Soshanguve Campus; at the Central Johannesburg College; at the Sedibeng TVET College; and at the Vaal University of Technology where we defeated the ANC 100%. They didn’t even get a single seat when they contested us. At the University of Limpopo we are breeding a new generation of student activists that are going to take this country forward.

 

Now, the founding principles of the Students’ Command of the EFF is: The pursuit of radical higher education transformation with the aim towards free quality education; mobilising students behind the struggle for economic freedom embodied in the EFF founding manifesto; championing the interests of students and all workers in institutions of higher learning; building a dynamic relationship between students and community struggles and campaigns; participating in progressive international campaigns and programmes; promoting academic and research excellence and progress; and contributing to intellectual and ideological discourse in a manner that seeks to promote the struggle for economic freedom.

 

That is the nature of a student movement, which we’ve conceptualised and are going to launch here in South Africa. Our message on Youth Day is that the young people of South Africa should learn. They must learn and learn. Like Lenin said, they must learn that political power without economic power is meaningless. They must learn that the people of South Africa liberated themselves. We were not liberated by the ANC. The ANC just played a part. The people of South Africa carried out their own liberation. The people of South Africa and the youth should learn that, as the youth, they carry the power to remove this government through elections and by any other means.

 

The youth must learn the basic fact that they should reject all manifestations of corruption, as chairperson of the ANC Mr Paul Mashatile did today in saying that we cannot endorse expending a lot of money on Nkandla and still saying it is going to spend more money. We should stand up and say to authority that they cannot abuse the resources that are available for us to go to school, to gain access to health care and for other purposes. We know that the future belongs to us, because we are the future and no one will ever stop us. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

 

Mr M HLENGWA: Hon Deputy Speaker, when it comes to youth development the government deserves a zero out of 10. They have not walked their talk, and today, on behalf of the youth of South Africa, I want to give the ANC a red card. You have failed the youth of South Africa.

Next Tuesday being Youth Day, the eyes and memories of South Africans and the world over will momentarily fixate on the bravery of the youth of 1976 and a thought will be spared for the brutality inflicted on the youth that day. In that moment we will see the brave heroism and commitment to education of the black child of 1976 in the face of a scary and uncertain reality, a reality which is very much alive in 2015, in which unemployment, poor education and police brutality are permanent features. Thus the struggle of 1976 in 2015 continues to be one that is worthy to emulate.

 

The youth of 1976 were a victim of a systematic and well-orchestrated assault on their education and future, which, left unchallenged, would have prolonged apartheid and the scandalous oppressive tendencies of the time.

 

Similarly, 21 years into our freedom and democracy and 39 years since June 1976, the education system of South Africa is a far cry from what is needed to respond positively to the collective needs of the job market, leaving the youth of South Africa wanting in an economic wilderness, and jobless, hopeless and unable to contribute.

 

The education system of this country is designed such that it prolongs the cycle of poverty and dependency in a disgusting ploy to manufacture voter fodder to keep the current government in place until their so-called “Jesus comes back.” There is overwhelming resistance on the part of government to embrace quality education.

 

The government has deliberately killed the quality of education in this country, and you should be ashamed of yourselves. The youth of 1976 understood that freedom and democracy without decent and quality education was a recipe for disaster, and 39 years later that disaster is upon us. History will judge you very harshly if you fail now to rise to the occasion and change our education for the better as the so-called government of the day.

 

Tuesday is not a day to celebrate and commemorate, but a day to begin a new revolution to make sure that young South Africans get the future they deserve. The year 1976 is bound to repeat itself if the education system stays in the mess it is in today.

 

The high levels of inequality, the ever-increasing levels of unemployment and the endemic poverty currently characterising South Africa today should spur us to new action, and this Parliament must do something to change that which is wrong. We must refuse to be the kind of Parliament that rubber-stamps the stupid resolutions that make their way into this House from Luthuli House. We are not a rubber-stamping institution, but we should change the lives of our people for the better. I thank you. [Time expired.]

 

Ms N SIMELANE-ZULU: Hon Speaker, I am very surprised that an IFP member comes here, talks about the ANC and gives the ANC a red card. When the IFP was in charge of the province of KwaZulu-Natal from 1977 to 2004, nothing was ever done for the young people of that province. [Applause.] Speaker, it is a known fact that a community can never develop, unless its youth ...

 

An HON MEMBER: On a point of order.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, hon members.

 

An HON MEMBER: Point of order, Chair.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order.

 

Mr M HLENGWA: On a point of order, hon Speaker.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order.

 

An HON MEMBER: Point of order.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, what is your point of order?

 

Mr M HLENGWA: Hon Speaker, I just want to remind Ms Simelane that ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.

 

Mr M HLENGWA: ... the government has used ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.

 

Mr M HLENGWA: ... therefore, any of our failures are your failures.

 

The SPEAKER: Hon member, proceed and speak. Hon members, may I remind you, if you want to debate political issues, don’t abuse the point of order requirements. You are creating a problem for the House, if you continue to do that. Proceed, hon member.

 

Ms N SIMELANE-ZULU: Deputy Speaker, it is a known fact that a community does not develop, unless its youth is also developed. Young people are the future in any society. It is on these bases that the agenda of youth development is and should always remain a priority of the ANC-led government.

 

Young people, by their nature, are not a homogenous group. Therefore, the interventions of government can never be the same for all of them or they can never be static, for that matter. That is why there will always be a call for government to do more for the young people. It is never the same and it is never enough. Even though we acknowledge that a lot has been done for the development of young people, a lot still needs to be done.

 

I come from a generation of young people who have benefited from the progressive policies of youth development in South Africa, post-1994. We should appreciate all the strides that have been taken by the government in ensuring that young people from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, in particular - I know other people will not understand that – access opportunities that were never available to them, previously.

 

Lokhu-ke Sihlalo kwakungeke kwenzeke uma ngabe abantu abamnyama noma abantu ababe nenqubekela phambili abazange bahlangane eKliptown ngoka-1955 bathathe isinqumo sokukuthi bayathanda ukuthi baziphathe futhi bese besho ukuthi eyiphi indlela abafuna ukuziphatha ngayo. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

 

[All this, Chairperson, would never have happened if the black or the progressive people did not meet in Kliptown in 1955 and took a decision that they would love to govern themselves and to decide on how that should be realised.]

 

These people had very clear visions on how South Africa of the future should and will look. I speak about the Congress of the People, the real Congress of the People that met in Kliptown in June 1955. One of the clauses that were discussed there was, and I quote:

 

The people shall share in the country’s wealth. The national wealth of our country, the heritage of South Africans, shall be restored to the people.

 

Not to those who have stolen it. This clause is very important and very relevant to the development of young people in our country.

 

In trying to implement this clause in relation to its development, the province of KwaZulu-Natal has a number of programmes that it has implemented in the past, and programmes that are currently implemented. This is important to note, as this will ensure that, as the people, we are able to criticise constructively where necessary, but also appreciate the good work that has been done.

 

However, the starting point is to note that the youth of South Africa, amongst other things, need skills to be able to develop further.

 

The KwaZulu-Natal government ran a programme called Youth Ambassadors. This programme, at any given time, employed not less than 3 800 young people throughout the province. Although they received a stipend, it was for not less than two years.

 

The aim of that programme was to ensures that the youth of the province are exposed to all the skills that are available within the provincial departments. These young people work with all the provincial government departments in their different war rooms, within the provincial programme called Operation Sukuma Sakhe. This ensures that the youth acquire different skills and also have access to opportunities that are available in all these departments.

 

Some of these young people have exited to bigger programmes, including, Change the World, CTW. They are managers, nutritionists and life trainers in the Department of Social Development. The list is endless.

 

The Department of Economic Development is currently busy working and provides skills to young people to ensure that they are given skills. When they leave, they are actually absorbed by the said programmes.

 

These are some of the gains of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, but let me turn to the national picture. The national government has ensured that there is a policy that addresses youth development directly. This policy has been there for a while, although there is now an updated policy that the Deputy Minister spoke about, namely, the National Youth Policy 2020. There are four priorities to this policy. I will just quote them and move quickly: enabling economic participation and transformation; facilitating education, skills development and second chances; health care and combating substance abuse; and facilitating nation-building and social cohesion.

On health care, we tell young people who have not started or those who are not currently sexually active to abstain. However, we tell those who are already active to ensure that they always use condoms. Therefore, when we talk to young people, we always say, one round, one condom. We want to ensure that we remind them of their health. [Interjections.]

 

This upgraded youth development policy comes directly from the youth of South Africa when there were interactions with the young people from all walks of life and they were requested to voice ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members. Why are you getting agitated?

 

Ms N SIMELANE-ZULU: They are excited about one round, one condom, Chair. They must know that we don’t mean that they must wash the condom. They must use another one.

 

The views of young people were also received by using a twitter handle, called #NYP2020, where the youth could pose their comments. This is very commendable. It is a very commendable step by the national government and it is well supported by the youth of our country.

However, the issue of youth development, particularly economic development, can never be an issue of government alone. The private sector should come to the party. Yes, government is expected to strengthen discussions with the private sector in relation to the partnerships that will implement the vision of the youth – skills and empowerment. A call should also be made by all of us to the private sector to take the matters of youth development to heart and join the government on all the initiatives that are out there and are meant to empower our young people.

 

By the way, the private sector doesn’t have to wait for government to invite them to join initiatives that are established by the government. What is stopping car manufacturing companies from ensuring that parts used are actually manufactured by youth entities? What is stopping the hair industry from ensuring that all the products that are sold in the industry come from youth companies, even if it means they need to be trained at the beginning? That investment will surely be worth their while, in the long run. Can we imagine the number of job opportunities that could be created?

 

We all know that all the successful economies have not grown through big companies alone, but through the mushrooming of the young entrepreneurs. Who can forget the story of Google? Who started it and who owns it? The role of government here is to ensure that Google is not used by the DA alone. The role of government here is to ensure that the environment is conducive. Government continues to do this through the different agencies.

 

In the last financial year, as the Deputy Minister has said, the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA, disbursed R28 million through a grant funding programme. This programme aims is to support the new start-up entrepreneurs. We support this very much.

 

However, having said that, young people also need to change their mentality. The view that the majority of our youth hold that once they leave school, they must look for employment, is also problematic.

 

The South Africa of today needs creative young people that will think outside the box and not just wait for the government. They must also create their own opportunities, as this will ensure that jobs are not just created by the big companies, but that they will create opportunities for themselves and other young people.

 

The youth of 2015 have the responsibility to ensure that the opportunities dreamed of by the youth that participated in Kliptown in 1955, during the adoption of the Freedom Charter are actually utilise correctly.

 

The youth of 2015 have a responsibility to ensure that the opportunities that Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu has never seen nor accessed are utilised correctly. Young people should ensure that his blood was not spilled in vain and that it was actually prophetic when Kalushi said: “My blood will water the tree of freedom for generations after me.” Thank you very much. [Applause.]

 

Mr S C MNCWABE: Deputy Speaker, hon members of the House ...

 

 ... uma singayeka ukuphikisana nje siyekele i-NFP ikhulule abantu abasha baleli zwe, kuyosisiza sonke lokho. [... if only we may stop debating and let the NFP free the youth of this country, that would help all of us.]

 

The Freedom Charter is often referred to as the ANC’s “selective Bible” yet, it is a critical document in the long road to South Africa’s democracy. The general sentiments that define it - equality and justice - served as moral beacons for the nature of our Constitution and later translated into our definitive human rights doctrine. However, we find very little in the Freedom Charter which speaks directly to the youth, but in it, we find the values and moral principles which could guide the youth of our country. We ask ourselves: What is it that the youth of South Africa needs the most? The NFP submits that the most important issue to consider is youth empowerment, and this can be done.

 

Firstly, we believe that youth empowerment can be attained through access to employment opportunities. Poverty is the biggest threat to our democracy, and unemployment, the single most important obstacle in the way of our young people realising their full potential.

 

How is it that 20 years after attaining democracy, we find that the youth still bear the brunt of unemployment, are marginalised and largely excluded from the mainstream economy? Our youth need access to employment so that they can have a stake in the development and fruits of the country and make a proud contribution to the growth and sustainability of our democracy.

 

We are reminded of the words of famed American writer James Baldwin, who remarked that, and I quote: “the most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose”. Can we afford to raise a generation of South Africans who have nothing to lose?

 

We believe that youth empowerment can be attained through quality education. The Freedom Charter states that, and I quote: “the doors of culture and learning shall be opened”. It envisaged a South Africa where education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children. Has this happened then? One only has to look at the underresourced schools in our rural areas and the endless student riots as a result of financial exclusions, to answer this question.

 

We ask: Why have our universities not transformed to reflect the demographics of our country yet? We ask: Why does our government praise a mediocre pass rate? We ask: Is our current education model the best we have to equip the youth for the challenges of tomorrow?

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Lungu elihloniphekile, sesiphelile isikhathi sakho. [Hon member, your time is up.]

 

Mr S C MNCWABE: The answer is obviously no, Deputy Speaker. Lastly, we need ...

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hhayi bo baba, sesiphelile isikhathi sakho! [Ubuwelewele.] [No sir, your time is up!] [Interjections.]

 

Mr S C MNCWABE: Bengivele ngizohlala phansi; bengazi ukuthi isikhathi sami sesiphelile. Ngiyabonga. [I was going to seat down anyway; I knew my time was up. Thank you.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Ubosibheka isikhathi baba, ubosibheka. [You must watch the time, sir, you must watch it.]

 

Mr N L S KWANKWA: Hon Deputy Speaker and hon members,

 

... ayikho le nto yekhondom enye ngomjikelo omnye. [... this thing of one condom for one round is not right.]

 

It does not sit well with me. For example if

 

 ... abantu ngomso bashusha kakhulu,...? [... people get very drunk,...]

 

... what are we going to say? One night one beer? And then after that we say one night one fix if drug and alcohol abuse is a problem? [Interjections.] No, it can be couched better; we can’t condone ...

 

...into yokuba abantwana mabasebenzise iikhondom , nee-sex, sithi, “one round, one nton-nton”. [...children to use condoms, and to have sex, “one round, one whatever”.]

 

That is wrong. The attitude is very defeatist. It’s wrong. [Interjections.]

 

This year we commemorate the 39th anniversary of June 16 1976, during which thousands of our young people died at the hands of the police fighting against the diabolic system of apartheid. It’s true; it’s wrong, the focus is completely wrong. We are not going to say yes.

 

However, regrettably our celebrations occur against the backdrop of a country that is experiencing economic decline where poverty, inequality and unemployment define the conditions in which millions of our young people live.

 

Hon members, you’re aware that the unemployment problem in South Africa is, in particular and more specifically, a youth unemployment problem. To put this statement in a bit of context, if you use the expanded definition of unemployment, approximately six out of every 10 young people are unemployed. I will never forget the day in 2012, when 10 000 people, mainly young people, queued for hours in Durban to apply for 30 learnership programmes that were offered by the provincial Department of Transport.

 

In addition to the unemployment problem is the poor education system that does very little to help our young people to break the cycle of poverty. It educates people, mainly young people, for a permanent existence in the second economy. However, amid this dispiriting situation, there are countless opportunities to change the situation for the better. We have to be aggressive in supporting initiatives that promote youth entrepreneurship and youth small business development. We have to ensure that a portion of the 30% that has been set aside for procurement of goods from small businesses goes to youth-owned enterprises.

 

To ensure a sustainable flow of young entrepreneurs, we must introduce entrepreneurship in our curriculum at schools. We have to be cognisant of the fact not all young people can be entrepreneurs. Therefore, we have to introduce infrastructure development programmes or rather Expanded Public Works Programme that are even more labour absorbing so that more young people can get employment opportunities. It is important that we ensure that out of these programmes young people derive maximum value. They have to walk away with skills that they can sell to the market.

 

On education and training, we have to ensure that our education system is transformed to ensure that young people acquire relevant and quality skills to help them contribute to our nation’s socioeconomic development. Addressing these challenges, among other things, will go a long way towards ensuring that our young people do look forward to the sunrise of our tomorrow. I thank you very much.

 

Akukho nto “ya-one round one nton-nton” apha. [There is nothing like “one round one whatever” here.]

 

Dr P J GROENEWALD: Agb Adjunkspeaker, die onderwerp van bespreking is ’n gesamentlike poging vir die ontwikkeling van ons nasionale jeug, maar die ironie van die saak is dit is in terme van die Vryheidsmanifes van die ANC.

 

Ek wil dit nou baie duidelik stel. Daar is nie ’n manier wat die VF-Plus ’n beleidsdokument van die ANC sal ondersteun en uitvoer nie. Die bespreking wys juis op die houding en die uitgangspunt van die regerende ANC, en dit is dat hulle net hul ontwikkeling wil doen in terme van hul kaders en hul ondersteuners. [Tussenwerpsels.]

 

Ek wil dit baie duidelik stel vandag. Die mees benadeelde jong mense en groep in Suid-Afrika vandag is die wit jeug van Suid-Afrika. [Tussenwerpsels.] Die ANC-beheerde regering gaan uit hul pad uit om klippe te plaas om die ontwikkeling van die wit jeug in Suid-Afrika te voorkom. As dit wit studente is wat aansoek doen vir beurse by universiteite, dan word dit afgekeur, nie op grond van meriete nie, maar op grond van hul velkleur. As hulle aansoek doen vir werk, dan word hulle nie afgekeur op grond van hul opleiding, kwalifikasies en meriete nie. Nee! Hulle word afgekeur op grond van hul velkleur, van regstellende aksie. [Tussenwerpsels.]

 

Ek wil vandag vir u sê dat dit niks anders is as rassisme in sy ergste graad nie. U seg en u sê dat rassisme uitgeroei moet word, maar u pas dit met ’n passie toe met die wit jeug van Suid-Afrika. Wat Suid-Afrika nodig het, is om ons beste mense vir die werk te kry wat die beste opgelei is, om die beste te lewer vir die ontwikkeling van Suid-Afrika.

 

Daarom moet ons vra, Hoekom moet daar, as ’n wit student aansoek doen om medies te studeer, sekere hoë punte behaal word, maar indien dit ’n swart student is, kan dit maar lae punte wees? Ons beledig eintlik die mense van Suid-Afrika, want wat ons sê is dat ons nie die bestes van die bestes wil hê nie.

 

Kom ons gaan kyk na Suid-Afrika se probleme wat ons tans beleef, byvoorbeeld by Eskom, en ander openbare ondernemings. As gevolg van regstellende aksie is kundigheid uitgedryf uit daardie instellings en hulle stort nou in duie. Die nuutste is PetroSA – hoekom? Dit is omrede die ANC-beheerde regering nie werklik daarin belangstel om op meriete die beste mense vir die werk te kry nie.

 

Die VF-Plus wil vir die ANC sê, As u werklik Suid-Afrika wil ontwikkel, dan moet u wegdoen met regstellende aksie, want die wit jeug van Suid-Afrika wil ’n bydrae lewer en u moet ophou om klippe in hulle pad te rol. Ek dank u. [Tussenwerpsels.] (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)

 

[Dr P J GROENEWALD: Hon Deputy Minister, the topic of discussion is a collaborative effort for the development of our national youth, but the irony is that it is in terms of the Freedom Charter of the ANC.

 

I want to make it very clear. There is no way that the FF Plus will support and implement a policy document of the ANC. The discussion shows exactly the attitude and approach of the ruling ANC, and that is that they only want to do their development in terms of their cadres and their supporters. [Interjections.]

 

I want to make it very clear today. The most disadvantaged young people and group in South Africa today is the white youth of South Africa. [Interjections.] The ANC controlled government goes out of their way to put barriers in their path to prevent the development of the white youth in South Africa. If white students apply for bursaries at universities, it is rejected, not based on merit, but based on of their skin colour. If they apply for work, they are not rejected based on their education, qualifications and merits. No! They are rejected based on their skin colour, on affirmative action. [Interjections.]

 

I want to say to you today that this is nothing less than racism in its worst form. You keep saying that racism should be eradicated, but you apply it with passion to the white youth of South Africa. What South Africa needs, is to get our best people who are best qualified for the job, to provide the best for the development of South Africa.

 

This is why we must ask the question, why is it that when a white student applies to study medicine, certain high marks need to be achieved, but when it is a black student, the marks can be lower? We are actually insulting the people of South Africa, because what we are saying is that we do not want the best of the best.

 

Let us look at the problems that South Africa currently face, for example Eskom, and other public enterprises. Due to affirmative action, expertise was driven from those institutions and they are now collapsing. The latest is PetroSA – why? Because the ANC-led government is not really interested to get the best people for the job, based on merit.

 

The FF Plus wants to say to the ANC, if you really want to develop South Africa, then you have to do away with affirmative action, because the youth of South Africa wants to make a contribution and you have to stop putting barriers in their path. I thank you. [Interjections.]]

 

Mr J J LONDT: Hon Deputy Speaker, the 16 June will for ever be etched in the history of South Africa. Many if not all of the speakers will refer to 1976 when thousands of young people marched against Bantu education. But today I want to take another approach.

 

On 16 June 1995, I was 10 years old. On that day at a youth rally in Ladysmith former President Nelson Mandela said the following and I quote:

 

One of the central messages as we mark the second South Africa Youth Day under conditions of democracy, we are driving home a central message that education is the most important asset that our youth should acquire and that for the government to succeed in improving education, it must have the support of students, teachers and parents alike.

 

Today, almost 20 years later, education is still one of the most important assets that the youth should acquire. What we need to ask ourselves is whether we are giving youth the opportunity to acquire this asset. For the past two years under this ANC-led government, less than 40% of the learners passed matric based on enrolment figures from Grade 2 onwards. Our education system is thus failing more than 60% of our learners every year.

 

Hon Deputy Speaker, this does not even take into consideration the ridiculously low standards that are set to pass matric. Our youth carry the brunt of the massive unemployment and crippling poverty facing our country and our government is not prepared to seriously tackle these issues. History will judge this ANC-led government harshly for failing to provide adequate education to our youth and failing to create the better life for all that you so promise.

 

The first step in addressing the appalling state of basic education is to drastically shorten the list of SA Democratic Teachers’ Union, Sadtu, and to ensure that we start holding teachers accountable for the quality of education they provide. Teachers, the moulders of future generations, should be appointed on merit only following a competency test and this is non-negotiable. You have to start with the basics, otherwise we are setting our children up for failure. Children should learn how to read properly in the foundation phase – aptly called so for this is a foundation of most if not all future learning.

 

The DA understands the importance of education. Where we govern in the Western Cape, we look at the real matric pass rate as well as the quality of those passes. The results have clearly shown since we started governing in the Western Cape in 2009 that we are the only party that truly cares about young people and we will continue to care about education when we govern nationally.

 

In the above-mentioned speech from June 1995, the following was also said and I quote:

 

Without education our efforts to provide jobs, better health facilities, water, electricity and other needs would not be sustained.

 

We require youth with skills. Currently, this ANC-led government is not providing youth with skills. We cannot grow our economy, fight huge unemployment and poverty by continuously failing our children at school level as this ANC-led government currently does.

 

I conclude with a challenge to the youth. Critically look at the leaders that the three biggest parties offer you. What are those leaders doing for you today and what can those leaders do for you tomorrow? In the one corner, let’s call it the yellow corner; we have a leader who only cares about himself, his family, his friends, his connections and those protecting him and his privilege. In the second corner, let’s call it the red corner; we have someone who can call the one in the yellow corner his political father who taught him his politics, his values and his principles. In fact, they are almost exactly the same just dressed differently. This father and son combination had a personal fight and that has spilled over into the rest of the household, the neighbourhood, provinces and the country.

 

Lastly, we have a leader who is the closest to the age of the youth today; a leader who truly believes that every South African should be able to use the freedom the previous generation fought so hard for. A leader who believes that every single one of us should have the opportunity to be the best we can be irrespective of our background and a leader who works tirelessly to ensure that we have a society that is fair and looking after its citizens, while taking into consideration the historical disadvantages.

 

The choice is yours. You can decide what your future should look like and who should lead you and fight for you, the youth today and the future of South Africa. We should have leaders who leave footprints and not leaders who leave fingerprints. I thank you. [Applause.]

 

Ms C DUDLEY: Deputy Speaker, as we debate today it would be helpful for us to consider the Mantra, “nothing about us without us” Sadly, with no youth Parliament on the agenda, this debate will be seen as old people talking about youth without the youth, despite the young amongst us.

 

If it is to achieve national sustainable youth development, it will take many forms but, ultimately it will only happen one unique and valuable young person at a time. Many of the remarkable innovations of the last 50 years, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, iPods, iPads and smartphones, were the ideas and actions of people under 30 years old.

 

South Africa’s potential to develop and grow depends on the degree to which this generation rises above obstacles to meet needs in communities and find solutions to problems facing society in today’s world.

 

The ACDP believes young people want to be productive and successful and we believe they can be no matter what the challenges are. In fact, those that are successful, succeed precisely because they find solutions to these challenges and everyone benefits.

 

Steve Jobs who was 21 and not without issues when he started a company that became one of the biggest successes ever known had this to say and I quote:

 

I am convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.

 

Many say they go the extra mile, but few actually do so. It can be a lonely place, but it is where the opportunities are. The one that is up early stays late, makes the extra phone call, sends the extra email, does the extra research and always does one more thing, especially if other people are not doing that thing. That is the person who rises above what is average and makes his mark. If you are wondering why the people you see in the National Assembly today should be so lucky, it’s not luck, they would have gone the extra mile and most still do. Believe it or not!

 

Jobs is also quoted as saying:

 

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

Most people become defensive, blame others, white government or give up. Those who embrace that failure, own it, learn from it and take full responsibility can then make sure the next time it turns out better.

 

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work and the only way to do great work is to love what you are doing. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. You will know when you find it. But the key word there is ‘find’.

 

Start where you are, be the solution to whatever challenge or opportunity which opens up, especially if it pays, but sometimes even when it doesn’t, then work hard and improve your skills. Small victories will give you the confidence and motivation to keep going. Success is achieved one challenge at a time. “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower, but ideas without action are not ideas. They are regrets.” Thank you.

 

Mr S M JAFTA: Hon Deputy Speaker, Hon Kwankwa has mentioned one thing that I wish, as this House, we need to support. We must send one clear message to our youth and children and that is to abstain. Celebrating the Youth Day that is 16 June 1976, is an opportunity for us to reflect on the progress made since then and beyond since the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955.

 

The Freedom Charter clearly states that all people shall have equal rights to use their own languages and to develop their own folk culture. The protests that began in Soweto against Afrikaans as the medium of instruction were undoubtedly an indication of a visionary, enthusiastic, disciplined and dedicated youth of the time. The resistance against foreign language domination above their own languages showed their desire to maintain their own identity and also their commitment to the Freedom Charter. That is why celebrating the Youth Day is so important.

 

Today’s youth must be educated about the sacrifices made by the previous generations. The youth must be empowered so as to work to overcome the social issues that continue to persist within this country. Our society is still experiencing some forms of discrimination, in one way or another, and the gap between the rich and the poor is still a serious challenge. The 1976 youth was prepared to die and many who ultimately died, died for the cause of the people of South Africa and not for an individual as the youth of nowadays might have declared.

 

Deputy Speaker, from the youth we expect future leaders of this country, people who can contribute fully towards social and economic transformation and reshape this country for the good of all South Africans. We, therefore, need to encourage our youth inside and outside of this House to follow the good example of the youth of 1976. The youth in South Africa is still facing challenges like poor quality education, unemployment and many live in the streets. Diminishing strong leadership in this country also poses a challenge to the youth. Hon Deputy Speaker, it is very much regrettable to see the image of this House also degrading to the lowest level. I thank you. [Time expired.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE NCOP: Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of privilege.

 

Mr M A PLOUAMMA: What have I done now, Ma’am?

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: What’s that about, Ma’am? [Interjections.] Go ahead.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE NCOP: Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of privilege. I just want to clear up an issue that arose earlier in the sitting.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Ma’am, if you have sorted the issue out, you don’t have to explain it.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE NCOP: Mustn’t I explain?

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No. If the issue has been cleared up, that’s okay; we don’t need an explanation. Thank you.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE NCOP: Okay. Thank you.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Plouamma.

 

Mr M A PLOUAMMA: Thank you, Deputy Speaker. The educational and economic development of youth should not be politicised. It should be a civil issue to be met by statesmanship and fortitude of the mind.

 

Some of our young women have chosen child production as way of survival. By this I mean young people accessing social grants. Government has open many doors for our young people. Unfortunately, it gave the keys to the wrong people – people who are after fame and materialism. Some of them never cared about the young people, but sought instead to overthrow Botswana. That is why, hon members, we see extraordinary nepotism, corruption and arrogance.

 

We need patriots who are willing to assist young people, irrespective of their political affiliation and creed.

 

Agang SA believes quality education is the foundation of resolving the youth unemployment crisis. Quality education will better equip our young entrepreneurs to be goal driven.

 

There is a slow death of character and decency. We must cultivate a culture of hard work, patience, not venerate those who followed get-rich-quick schemes like “tenderpreneurs.” Thank you.

 

Mr A G WHITFIELD: Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, hon members, millions of young South Africans are looking to this Fifth Parliament for hope – hope for a better tomorrow; hope that we, the servants of the people, will take decisions that will build a truly inclusive future where all young South Africans can build their dreams; hope that this Fifth Parliament will indeed become the jobs Parliament that the DA intends it to become.

 

We owe it to our nation’s youth to build an enterprise economy that will create jobs for the more than 3 million unemployed young South Africans. We must build a start-up nation of young entrepreneurs to reboot our economy and place us on a sustained economic growth path.

 

Presently, we are a nation where our potential exceeds our performance. This is because our potential is being constrained by the policy paralysis and procrastination of an ANC in a bitter ideological tug-of-war. Other than the woefully underfunded but well-intention Department of Small Business, there is simply no indication that the current government has any intention to build an enterprise economy.

 

An enterprise economy simply cannot exist with the state at the centre, and this is precisely where we find it. In an article entitled, “Young, black and angry”, economist Xhanti Payi  says,

 

We do not want a government that is constantly interfering with the economy, by trying to create jobs. Government will be broke if it continues to be a job creator in the economy.

 

Whilst this may sound counterintuitive to the ANC, it speaks to the very heart of building an enterprise economy. The state needs to let go in order for the economy to grow.

 

While the hon president giggles and jiggles at this very podium paying lip service to the National Development Plan, NDP... [Interjections.] ...he positions himself as the number one gatekeeper of hope to millions of young South Africans. It has become clear that, under his leadership, the ANC has no intention of actually implementing the NDP.

 

This government is far more comfortable taking control over every aspect of the economy and the individuals that exists within it. They seek to suck the youth in to a vortex of dependency on the state because that is where they can control them.

 

But there is hope on the horizon, and that horizon is within reach. Like the youth of 1976, this generation will not stand idly by as the echoes of our giggling President reverberate through the canyon of empty promises [Applause]. They will embrace the spirit of vukuzenzele, because young South Africans are hungry for change and change is coming.

 

This change will come at the ballot box, as millions of young South Africans take ownership of their future. It will be the change that will deliver a DA government to dismantle the insider-outsider economy that has locked our youth out for far too long. It is only under a DA government that a real youth wage subsidy will create jobs for hundreds of thousands of young South Africans. We will cut red tape and establish opportunity centres across the country to serve as one stop shops for small businesses and young job seekers to access meaningful support.

 

A DA government will enter into partnerships with companies, schools and NGOs to roll out the “My future starts now” entrepreneur competition. The DA-led Western Cape has the lowest youth unemployment rate in the country, which proves that this innovative policies work.

 

So, when faced with the choice between freedom and despair, this generation will choose freedom; between fairness and corruption, they will choose fairness; between opportunity and poverty, they will choose opportunity. They will make these choices not for us, ladies and gentlemen, but for themselves because they have discovered that there can be no future for them, without them. Thank you. [Applause.]

 

Mr B MKONGI: Chairperson, as I rise before this House today, I would find it as a monumental betrayal if we omit to share with the nation a troubling story that compels the urgency of the call by the ANC for radical socioeconomic transformation and the morality of the call for economic freedom in our lifetime.

 

In 2011, in a poor settlement of Verdwaal - 25kilometres from Lichtenburg in the North West province of South Africa - four black children of Mmupele family: Onkarabile, Nkune, Sebengu Mapule took to the road in desperate hunt for food and their mother. These children were aged two, six, seven and nine respectively. Their journey was a fatal 8kilometres under excruciating heat and all four perished on their way before reaching their destination. Days later, their tiny and lifeless bodies were found in the open field, badly dehydrated and with hardly any food in their tiny stomachs. During their discovery, the police reported that, I quote:

 

The children were so badly decomposed they were nothing more than skin and bones. They lay on the ground facing each other, as if they were plotting their next line of action.

 

These were Black lives in a free and democratic South Africa. This situation is unacceptable. Even a so-called poor country like Cuba does not allow this kind of tragedy to happen to its children and youth. In reality, it is scandalous and counter-revolutionary for children of that age who were suppose to be playing and attending school to die of hunger and neglect in a wealthy country like South Africa. This is a compelling case for faster change and radical socioeconomic transformation to rid the majority of our people who happen to be black from the deep seated fault lines of unemployment, poverty and inequality. Nkosi sikelela i-Afrika.

 

Hon members, the conditions of our people speak directly to the conscience of the youth of South Africa. These desperate conditions are a direct call for action to all young people in this country. The youth of this country must stop outsourcing their revolution responsibility to the state. The youth revolution cannot be state-led, but the youth could compliment the work of the state. Therefore, the question remains: What is the role and task of the youth and their movement as a motive force to fulfil the demands of the Freedom Charter in this country today?

 

Whitefield, you are new in this game. I don’t know you, but allow us to answer this difficult question. The ultimate vision of the Freedom Charter has not been fully achieved. Our task therefore, is to accomplish this mission with great sense of purpose and urgency in honour of the successive generations of the youth that came before us. We must do this in response to the cries of the Mmupele family.

 

We will fail in our historic duty of economic freedom in our lifetime if we don’t raise our levels of political and ideological consciousness on broad historical and philosophical underpinnings of poverty, unemployment and even equality. We will not win the struggle for economic freedom if we do not break ranks with the culture of consumerism, individualism, self-centredness and crass materialism. We will not live up to the dream of Nelson Mandela if we submit ourselves to the current dominant frivolities of voracious greed and vulgar sense of entitlement including infantile chase to milk the state resources to the detriment of the people.

 

Wealth exhibition and utter disregard for the future of our country and the current conditions of our people is detrimental to the noble principles of economic freedom in our lifetime. Those who indulge themselves to such acts as well as those who get tenders from the state to do shoddy work including those who give exam papers to our youth to copy, thereby risking their future, should declared enemies of the revolution and traitors. [Applause.]

 

In practical terms, the youth as a critical sector should contribute meaningfully towards the construction of a more humane and equal society based on values of selflessness, integrity, mutual respect and constructive engagement. They must be seen at all material times grabbling with day to day challenges facing our people. They must commit the entirety of their existence towards the good of the revolution and the contribution to economic development and industrialisation of our country. They should utilise science, technology and innovation to support government efforts to breathe life to the national growth plan and to reindustrialise Africa once and for all.

 

The youth must use information, communication and technology at their disposal to the good of the nation. They must use it to unite not to divide our nation. It should not be cool to parade naked bodies of young women on social media; in Marxist-Leninist thesaurus, it is anti-social. This is something that we call a minimum task of the youth in this country.

 

But the broader task of the youth in the 21st century is to commit themselves to take the resolution of the national question in South Africa to its logical conclusion. In that struggle for the actual resolution of the national question, the youth in general and the working youth in particular, through struggle and their intellectual capacity, must entrench the centrality of the working class towards the ultimate resolution of the class question. They must do so imbued with the sense of urgency in resolving the struggle to defeat patriarchy as a revolutionary determinant for ultimate peace between men and women, which we call gender equality.

 

So in the end, the youth should reject the emerging narrow sectarian posturing of the rightwing liberal conservatism that continues to breed a sense of hopelessness amongst our youth. In the same vein the youth must reject the ultra-left junta of personality cult. The youth must defend the poor, the down trodden and the unsuspecting unemployed youth from abuse by those who are merely pondering on the present challenges without any clarity or providing any solution. In fact, the youth must know that without the ANC, there can be no economic freedom in our lifetime. [Applause.]

 

The youth must be vigilant of the emergence of individuals and organisations in our society that are established only to pursue narrow programmes without proper vision to take South Africa forward. In their individual and collective capacities, the youth must uplift the weak, the vulnerable, and the poorest of the poor in their communities by leading social programmes that can go a long way in denting the current realities of poverty, unemployment and inequalities without an expectation of a gain. The youth together with the ANC must take South Africa forward.

 

So it is in this regard that we stand here today to reaffirm the centrality of the ANC, to bring back the better life for all our people. The ANC as the leader of society leading the broad forces of the democratic struggle has managed to carry all South Africans to this end. It is a known fact that it is only the ANC that can lead our people towards the creation of the national democratic society and a better life for all our people.

 

Our guiding documents and tools in this journey are the Freedom Charter and the National Development Plan. We stand here before you as young people of the Republic to thank the ANC and salute the youth of 1976 for the job well done ... [Time expired.] ... Thank you very much. I have taught you politics. [Applause.]

 

Mr L R MBINDA: Sihlalo, ndinomzukulwane apha igama lakhe ngu Cwangco. [Chairperson, I have a granddaughter by the name of Cwangco.]

 

She is my granddaughter.

 

IsiXhosa:

Uyambukela lo mabonakude. [She does watch this TV channel.]

 

It will be very embarrassing ...

 

 ... ukuba ndinokuma apha ndithethe ... [... for me to stand here and talk about ...]

 

... one condom and one this.

 

Noko sibokhe sinqandane, bafondini. [Interjections.] [We sometimes need to call each other to order, gentlemen. [Interjections.]

As the PAC we support the concept of sustainable youth development, but at the same time we know that it cannot be informed by a document which is giving away the birthright of the African youth - this sell-out document so-called Freedom Charter.

 

Moreover, as the PAC we believe that the structure that the government has put in place cannot make youth development sustainable. The PAC for all these years has been calling for a youth Ministry, and would still continue to persuade this government to move away from its loose arrangements, such as, the Minister in the Presidency, Youth Minister, today it is part of the Department of Labour and tomorrow it is under the Department of Trade and Industry. There is a lot of confusion.

 

The youth of this country must understand that the ruling party has been chanting these slogans, since 1994 and now it is after 21 years. So, you need to ask yourselves whether you are benefitting from these slogans that are being chanted. You are feeling the pinch not the ruling party.

 

There are a lot of catch phrases and sloganeering that we are doing and which are delaying us. We would also like to be competitive among the nations. [Interjections.] We have to open the minds of our youth which would therefore help in opening many opportunities, but not these crumbs that are presented to them.

 

When uncle Zeph, the second president of the PAC, and some of his comrades were sentenced to a total of 162 years by Judge Carl Lewis for agitating the youth of this country to fight against Bantu education ... [Interjections.] ... ncincilili thank you ... [Interjections.] ... during the Bethal-18 Trial - because there is no other trial except that one - so if you read about that trial you will be informed that the struggle was not spontaneous and that the emergence of Black Consciousness was a direct result of the status campaign.

 

The PAC will conclude by calling upon the relevant Ministries to collaborate and move the youth grant ... [Time expired]. The PAC sees the SA National Defence Force, SANDF, as the critical institution into which the necessary discipline, focus and competitiveness must be put. Thank you, Comrade Chair. It is a pity you did not have a chance to be lectured, because of time. [Time expired.]

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: Hon Deputy Chairperson, any government that is serious about significantly changing its people’s lives and maintaining socially responsive economic and political systems knows just how crucial it is to empower its people, especially the youth.

 

Seo se ka se tsamaelane le ANC. [Something which the ANC is not doing.]

 

Although South Africa is in its 21st year of democracy, the ANC’s policies have continued reproducing and maintaining apartheid legacy of significant inequalities. The burden of most of these inequalities falls heavily on the youth in terms of education, unemployment and access to basic services, amongst other things.

 

The Freedom Charter, e-ANC e e tsentseng mo matlakaleng, e be e ntshiwa ke EFF ... [which the ANC has thrown into the rubbish bin and the EFF took out.] says, “The doors of learning shall be opened to all.” And in South Africa the constitutional mandate of the government is that it must make education avail ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mokgosi, can you take a seat, there is a point of order. [Interjections.]

 

Mr B G NTHEBE: Hon Chair, my point of order is that: I want to check what is “matlakala” in Setswana. It’s not acceptable. It is unparliamentary and I would want ... [Interjections.] ... the speaker to withdraw. [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: No, no, no. Hon member, you must allow me to make a ruling. There is a point of order which I need to make a ruling on. [Interjections.]

 

Mr M S MTHETHWA: Hon Deputy Chairperson, do not be angry, relax!

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: No, no, no. Just relax!

Mr M S MTHETHWA: Don’t be angry. You get emotional when you speak to us! [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Take your seat, hon member. [Interjections.]

 

Mr M S MTHETHWA: Relax! Relax! [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: No, I cannot relax ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: No, I cannot relax ... [Interjections.]

 

Mr M S MTHETHWA: Relax!

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: ... until I made a ruling. [Interjections.]

 

Mr M S MTHETHWA: You are disturbing the kids! Relax!

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon member, take your seat please! Hon member, that is not a point of order. Hon Mokgosi, can you continue with the debate.

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: Most schools are under-resourced. They do not have textbooks, stationery, libraries, science labs or computer labs. Most learners have to walk long distances and cross dangerous roads to get to school. The poor quality of primary and secondary schooling cripples the chances of most African and Coloured youth from accessing higher education, a gateway to a better life. Those who are lucky enough to get admission are later turned away simply because National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, cannot pay and they cannot afford to pay for tuition. Students need bursaries not loans.

 

Our higher learning institutions only take up 30% of learners who pass matric. What happens to the other 70%? How many young people do we have sitting at home with matric certificates and no university to go to? Access to education in South Africa, which should be a basic human right, is like winning the lottery. South Africa has enough wealth to radically transform the education system and offer free and quality education to all up to the first degree, but refuses to do so.

 

Jaaka gale ke ANC. [As usual, it is the ANC.]

 

The ANC-led government prefers keeping the majority of our youth undereducated and hungry so that local corporates and foreign multinational corporations have abundant cheap labour to exploit and discard at will. Youth unemployment in South Africa is the third highest in the world at 71%.

 

If government were to do away with the tender system and create its own companies, such as the cement company, construction company, pharmaceutical company and establish industries such as institutions for science and technology innovation, the state would meet its service delivery challenges and significantly drop unemployment.

 

Jaaka gale ke ANC. [As usual, it is the ANC.]

 

But we are led by a ruling party that has no capacity to lead and a selfish thieving President who giggles at extremely important issues. Hhe! Hhe! Hhe! Hhe! Hhe! Hhe! [Laughter.] How can we then expect South Africa’s state of affairs to change?  Youth formations associated with the ruling ... [Interjections.]

 

Mr Z M D MANDELA: Hon Deputy Chairperson, on a point of order.

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mokgosi, can you take a seat?

 

Mr Z M D MANDELA: Hon Deputy Chairperson, my point of order is that: The hon member on the podium has just referred to the President, His Excellency President Zuma as a thieving President. [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: As a? [Interjections.]

 

Mr Z M D MANDELA: As a thieving President. Thieving President. Thieving President.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Thieving.

 

Mr Z M D MANDELA: Meaning the President is a thief.

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Oh, okay.

 

Mr Z M D MANDELA: Hon Deputy Chairperson, can you ask her to withdraw on that?

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mokgosi, did you refer to the President as a thief. Hon Mokgosi?

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: Hon Deputy Chairperson, listening is a skill. Can I continue with my speech? [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mokgosi. [Interjections.] Hon Mokgosi!

 

Mr Z M D MANDELA: Hon Deputy Chairperson, on a point of order,

Ms N P MOKGOSI: Hon Deputy Chairperson, can I repeat the sentence?

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mokgosi, did you refer to the President as a thief?

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: Hon Deputy Chairperson, can I repeat the sentence, so that you can also hear, hon Deputy Chairperson? [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mokgosi, did you refer to the President as a thief?

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: Hon Deputy Chairperson, I did not.

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Okay. She says, she did not. Therefore ... [Interjections.]

 

Mr Z M D MANDELA: Hon Deputy Chairperson, on a point of order. [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: ... can we continue with the debate.

 

Mr Z M D MANDELA: Hon Deputy Chairperson, on a point of order.

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: She says she did not.

 

Mr Z M D MANDELA: Hon Deputy Chairperson, can you study the Hansard and then make a ruling.

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon members, according to ... okay, let me satisfy myself ... [Interjections.]

 

Mr M N PAULSEN: Chairperson ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: ... but in terms of the debate ... [Interjections.]

 

Mr M N PAULSEN: ... that small boy over there must not waste our time!

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: No, hon member! [Interjections.] Hon members, can we allow hon Mokgosi, to conclude the debate. Can you conclude your debate, hon Mokgosi?

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: Youth formations associated with the ruling party in tertiary institutions and our communities are not about improving the challenges faced by youth ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon member, unfortunately you time has expired. [Interjections.]

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: ... but are used as lapdogs to consolidate the ruling party’s voters.

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mokgosi, your time has expired.

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: Le fa o ka e tima metsi ... [Even if you refuse to assist us ...]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mokgosi!

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: O tla e bona e nwele! Susu ilela suswana, gore suswana e tle e go ilele. [There are people who are willing to assist us. Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mokgosi!

 

Ms N P MOKGOSI: Respect is not demanded, but respect is earned! [Time expired.]

 

Mr M KHAWULA: Hon Deputy Chairperson, 39 years after the ground breaking sacrifice and history making contribution by the youth of 1976 in the liberation struggle, South Africa stands at a crossroads of a new chapter of challenges. We look back at the events of that era with mixed feelings of pride and joy, hope and encouragement, bravery and enthusiasm, but also sadness of the remarkable loss. It is a loss that brings with it a sense of shame and regret to some, but brings a sense of amandla [Power.] to the others. The year 1994 brought with it a healing of the wounds and of a mission accomplished. It brought a healing that says, whilst we ventured and carried sad losses, but it was not in vain.

 

A future generation of another 39 years to come will also look back at events of today and judge us. We will all be judged about how good or bad we were able to use democracy to either built a prosperous country or destroy the hopes and aspirations of a better South Africa.

 

I want to refer a little to what Dorothy Law Nolte says in her writing, Children Learn What They Live, and I quote:

 

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight. If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient. If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn. If children live with fairness, they learn justice.

I look back at my political upbringing in my political home, the IFP, with pride. It is a political home that instilled in us the highly valued principles of ubuntu and respect. I look back at the leaders of the IFP and we can only think of one treasured value, integrity, and can only think of the next treasured values: oneness, brotherhood and sisterhood.

 

It is these values which led to historical consultations between the IFP Youth Brigade and the ANC Youth League in order to save South Africa from a disaster. It is this values which led to the formation of the National Youth Development Forum, NYDF, to start talking youth development together. The IFP Youth Brigade, the ANC Youth League, PAC Youth League of Azania and others came together in unison and said, “The future of our country belongs to all of us together, let us start building now.”

 

It is these values which inspired the then Deputy President of South Africa in 1996 to bring together a Youth Indaba at Kempton Park. The Youth Indaba culminated into the establishment of the Youth Commission in the same year. Whilst my party was opposed to the idea of a commission - and is still opposed to it even today and lobby for a youth ministry - but the maturity of the youthful politics that prevailed made all of us move forward, together.

With the fading of the NYDF, we all agreed to another platform, the National Youth Council. On behalf of the IFP Youth Brigade, I want to challenge the youth of the ANC, the IFP, the DA, the EFF, the UDM and all else to say, what is your contribution to our country, South Africa today? I thank you. [Applause.] [Time expired.]

 

Mr D STOCK: Hon Deputy Chair, before I start I need to clarify the issue that was raised by the hon Floyd Shivambu from the EFF earlier on. It’s unfortunate because he is not here. By the look of things it looks like he has left. I want to clarify this issue because we may set a very wrong precedence in this Parliament. We are hon members in this Parliament; we must take each other very serious.

 

The issue of the EFF and the DA not being represented in the speaker’s list, you have submitted a proof to the Chief Whip of the NCOP that there are no speakers that are going to ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: May I make a ruling on that matter. There is an earlier ruling that was made on this specific matter. Let us not refer back to it. Hon Stock, you may proceed with the debate. 

Mr D STOCK:  No, I think I must raise it as part of my debate because it may create a very bad precedence. So, it must be corrected. There are processes in Parliament. If you have not submitted candidates from your political party who are going to debate, it is not our mistake. [Interjections.]

 

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: We already had a ruling from the Chair earlier around this matter where the Chief Whip tried to reintroduce it. The matter has been resolved. But if we want to start debating it I can start pulling emails as well where we can have a proper debate about it.

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Let’s not even get there. Hon Stock, continue with the debate.

 

Mr D STOCK: Hon Deputy Chair, allow me to greet you all. This year’s debate on the national Youth Day in South Africa coincides with the 21st anniversary of our freedom and democracy under the leadership of the ANC. This imperative debate gives a clear recognition of the milestone in regard to the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Charter which was adopted in 1955 in Kliptown. Oliver Tambo gave the title of the young lions to the generation of 1976 for their relentlessness in fighting the ignoble regime of apartheid. They earned their stripes in the battlefield. The young lions radiated an amazing amount of energy, resourcefulness, confidence, assertiveness, fearlessness and deep intellect. During those days, we remember Peter Mokaba, Parks Mankahlane, Solomon Mahlangu, Simphiwe Mthimkhulu, France Mohlala, Tsietsie Mashinini, Hector Peterson and many others who have epitomised the spirit of young lions through great leadership.

 

We are celebrating Youth Day under the theme: Progressively implementing the Freedom Charter by advancing our collective efforts for sustainable national youth development by 2030. This is primarily for us as the ANC-led government to re-emphasise our commitment to place youth development issues high on the developmental agenda of government. As a nation, we must always recognise that the vibrant voice of young people was always being embedded in the struggle for liberation and social transformation. The voice of the 1976 generation signalled a watershed moment in the political struggle to bring about change and social transformation. In commemorating this important youth day, our youth leaders should continue to draw inspiration from the 1976 generation. Today’s youth should continue to have their collective voice yet in matters of democratic governance and social change in order to bring about a better life for all.

 

As we celebrate the 21 years of democracy, it is always important not to forget that there are a number of good stories that were delivered by the ANC-led government to many of our young people. It is always very important because we are not shying away from the challenges as the ANC-led government. We also acknowledge that there are challenges, but the future of the young people of this country remains in the ANC.

 

We also find comfort in the fact that within a few years of the democratic rule under the ANC, we have been able to provide free housing to the millions of our people. The multitudes of the poor are now enjoying access of clean water and sanitation. More children are attending no-fee schools and are beneficiaries of our feeding scheme programmes. The social network system is providing a life line in the form of grants to millions of our young people.

 

However, we are not oblivious to the fact that our economy has not benefited all so far. It has not been inclusive enough such that a floor shop worker can regard himself or herself as an equal player within economic landscape of the country. Young people as members of the society have a critical role to play in building their communities and also the nation at large. It is the responsibility of the youth to get involved in community structures and different organisations which are aimed at improving the conditions in their different areas. This involvement must be guided by a strong sense of civic responsibility. It should also not be a self-serving involvement.

 

Today, we are faced with the challenge of young people who are hardly involved with the youth structures, and therefore spend their energies on activities that have little value in adding to the development of their communities. We have almost 22 million young people in South Africa below the age of 35 and the task of providing support to all will always remain a daunting task which requires a lot of patience and a consistent long-term goal setting. Many still need support, but many have reached their support over the last 21 years.

 

Millions of South Africans today enjoy the fruits of democracy and a number of learners have access to financial and nonfinancial support for young entrepreneurs. To address some of these challenges that I have already highlighted, through the National Development Agency working together with government departments, state-owned enterprises, the private sector, the civil society organisations and most importantly the young South Africans, has laid a solid foundation towards the development of a policy document called the National Youth Policy 2020. It was recently made government policy through the approval by the Cabinet following elaborate consultations with various organisations. This policy seeks to address main areas such as the youth development; economic emancipation and transformation; education, skills development and second chance; health including reproductive health and antisubstance abuse; and nation building and optimising the youth development machinery.

 

Hon members, allow me to reiterate the fact that government through the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA, has signed the Youth Employment Accord on 18 April 2013. The government has also approved the National Youth Employment Accord. The accord proposes three distinct but interconnected work streams. First, is the identification of immediate areas of action; second, include the identification of additional areas of action and targets; and third, is the commencement of discussions on the constraints in the economy that hinder job creation and inclusive growth. Most importantly, it contains a set of six commitments that all social partners have subscribed to.

 

In conclusion, I was part of the delegation that went to Gallagher Estate in 2011, at the national congress of the ANC Youth League which endorsed the programme for economic freedom in our lifetime. This other small political parties must not come to the podium or run around in the country and create an impression as if economic freedom belongs to them. Young people in this country must know that their future remains within the ANC. It is only the ANC that would be able to deliver this economic freedom.

 

Anything that seems like economic freedom outside the ANC is just fake and very cosmetic. We urge all young people to take responsibility for their own future, our country’s future and the future of our society. Young people must lead and the government will always provide them with support. We should be brave, bold and be very courageous espousing the values of tolerance, respect, humility and selflessness as we take our country forward. It is the youth who will continue again to lead and ensure that the brighter, better and more prosperous future remains in the ANC. Siya qhuba, siyasebenza. [We are moving forward, we are working] I thank you. [Applause]

 

Mr Z N MBHELE: Ngiyabonga Sihlalo, ngifuna ukuqala ngombuzo: ... [Thank you Chairperson, I want to start with a question: ...]

 

 ... what is the biggest problem of the ANC government? It’s not just bad policy, although heaven knows the ANC does have a knack for churning out disastrous policy that chases away investments and kills jobs, abandoning most young people to a bleak future. The biggest problem is that the ANC drives the motorcar of government with the accelerator pressed down but the handbrake is up.

 

I-accelerator icindizelwe phansi kodwa i-handbrake imi phezulu. [The accelerator is pressed down but the handbrake is up.]

 

What happens when a car is like that? It goes nowhere.

 

Kulimale nenjini ngaphezu kwalokho. [The engine also gets damaged on top of that.] 

 

The hon Manamela spoke about access to skills development and access to information being part of the dreams of our youth. However, the ANC’s incompetence means that those dreams will remain just that ... dreams. The sector education and training authorities, Setas, are ineffective and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, is dysfunctional and underfunded.

 

If you want to see the realisation of the youths’ dreams, look at the DA-governed Western Cape where we ensure that textbooks are delivered on time; we implement the youth wage subsidy as the Work and Skills Programme; we have a youth internship programme known as the Premier’s Advancement of Youth; we offer recreational opportunities through our Mass participation; Opportunity and access; Development and growth, Mod, centres; and we have a partnership between the Department of Community Safety and the faith-based sector to conduct sports and cultural programmes during the school holidays in poor communities. That is real youth development.

 

The hon Stander outlined the opportunities and conditions that will help young people realise their potential in the DA’s vision of an open opportunity society for all, underpinned by freedom, fairness and opportunity. This is a vision for a better future, and a united, prosperous and winning nation. More and more young people are joining our blue wave to build that future. Simply look at the DA student organisation’s victory at Fort Hare University ... [Applause.] ... where those students have chosen to bank on the DA’s offer and invest in a future of freedom, fairness and opportunity.

 

In two days time the DA will launch our vision 2029, explaining how the people of our country, especially young people, can expect their lives to have improved after 10 years of a DA-led national government.

 

Okusho ukuthi amalungu e-ANC awaqale ukukhetha izihlalo ngala ngakithi ngoba thina siyobe sizithathile izihlalo zabo ngale ... [Which means that the ANC members should start choosing seats from our side because we would have taken their seats from that side ...]

 

... and judging by the empty ANC benches in this Joint Sitting, they don’t seem to be attached to their seats anyway, so handing them over to the DA in 2019 should not feel like too much of a loss.

 

Hon Simelane-Zulu showed an understanding of the role of government, as being to create conducive conditions for employers and entrepreneurs. But here are the questions: Is the Eskom power crisis conducive? Are tourism-destroying visa regulations conducive? Is the weakening of property rights and the proliferation of corruption conducive? The answer to all of these questions is no.

 

Iyona le ndaba ebengiyichaza ekuqaleni ... [That’s the issue I was explaining earlier ...]

 

... the accelerator is pressed down ...

 

 ... kodwa i-handbrake ime phezulu. [... but the handbrake is up.]

 

Yesterday one of the ANC speakers said that ...

 

... i-ANC ayibancishi abantwana. [... the ANC does not deprive the youth.]

However, the ANC government’s failure to create a high growth economy in which economic opportunities abound is to deprive the youth of the tools and fertile environment to realise their potential. They will not allow their future to tumble over the fiscal cliff because ...

 

IsiZulu:

... niyabancisha bazonixosha. [... you are depriving them and they will fire you.]

 

So, what is to be done? Clearly the ANC lacks the will and leadership to do the right things to ensure a bright future for young people. These young people will choose the hand that will release the handbrake holding our country back. That is the blue hand of the DA.

 

Abantu abasha bazobuyisela amandla esandleni sethu ukuze siyidedele i-handbrake. [Ihlombe.] [The youth is going to return the power to our hand so that we can release the handbrake. [Applause.]]

 

Nksz S M KHOZA: Hhayi mfo kaMbhele, uyazama bandla kodwa ngokuhamba kwesikhathi, uzogcina usukwazi ukukhuluma kahle. [Ubuwelewele.] Sizohambisana nje sicathulisane, size sifike la sifika khona. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

 

[Ms S M KHOZA: Well, Mr Mbhele, you are making an effort but as the time goes by, you will end up speaking well. [Interjections.] We will take you step by step and we will finally get there.]

 

Hon Deputy Chair, extraordinary times require extraordinary leadership. The devastating trail on the path of colonialism coupled with racial capitalism is often understated. The ANC as a leader of society does not have time to argue with the opposition about their points of view. We have a responsibility to lead. [Applause.] We have a responsibility to remain true to our mission, to build social cohesion, a united nonracial, nonsexist society and never to be detracted from our pursuit of a prosperous society, undoing over 340 years of psychological, economical, political and social damage of unimaginable proportions. Do your own arithmetic, count from 1652 to 1994. That is over than 340 years. [Applause.] It is no easy task.

Admittedly, 21 years is not enough. Ask the ANC as the leader because we are leading from the front, we are leading from the centre and we are also leading from the back. We can testify that, ...

 

... kushaywa edonsayo. [... pressure is put on those who are making an effort to make things happen.]

 

We have a responsibility to lead the implementation of the National Development Plan 2030, NDP, and Africa Agenda 2063.

 

Allow me to demonstrate the calibre of the Youth Class of 1976. They were not driven by self-serving motives. They were united and informed by the agenda to build the national democratic society. They rejected language imperialism and all its manifestations. They stood up for what was just and fair.

 

This language imperialism is well-captured, because sometimes we talk and we do not want to refer to history because it is too painful to remember what actually happened. I am going to quote the then Deputy Minister of Bantu Education in 1976, Mr Punt Janson when he said:

 

A black man may be trained to work on a farm or in a factory, he may work for an employer who is either English-speaking or Afrikaans-speaking and the man who has to give him instructions may be either English-speaking or Afrikaans-speaking. Why should we then start quarrelling about the medium of instruction amongst the black people?

 

When asked if he had consulted with the black people who were affected by the imperialist language which continued to alienate black people, he had this to say:

 

No, I have not consulted the African people on the language issue and I’m not going to. I have consulted the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

 

He was pointing to the Constitution that treated black people as noncitizens and objects of their colonial white masters.

 

Language is not just a cultural communication tool, it is economics. A well-known African anthropologist and linguist, Prof Kwesi Kwaa Prah, put it very well when he said, “No country can make progress on the basis of a borrowed language”. [Applause.]

 

Language is therefore a determining factor of one’s political, social, economic and psychological standing in society. It is therefore important that when we are speaking about all these things that we are saying, we actually begin to understand the significance of the agenda of the Class of 1976. I want to say that we have enough evidence to demonstrate that in countries where they have embraced their own languages and stopped using the dominance of the language of their colonial masters, they succeeded. Vietnam, in this instance, is a very good example. It is a very fast-growing economy. I also want to congratulate the University of KwaZulu-Natal for taking the bold step of embracing isiZulu and English as the media of instruction in that university. [Applause.]

 

I have to say that there is a disturbing emergence of a new breed of youth leadership. As we commemorate the historic Class of 1976, which coincides with 60 years of the Freedom Charter, it is of great consequence that we highlight an emergent new breed of youth leadership with disturbing characteristics: Firstly, there is an emergent of a colonially-inspired and brainwashed youth leadership posing as the epitome of an ideal South African youth. They are presented as embracing liberal democratic values. Their mantra “Forget the Past”. This type of youth is best described as brainwashed, thoroughly colonised, alienated from economic realities and alienated from their own history. They are actually battling with identity. [Applause.]

 

Secondly, is a hybrid of Machiavellian style and fascist ideology. These are pseudo-revolutionaries. These pseudo-revolutionaries are characterised by high levels of duplicity.

 

Mr N SINGH: Hon Deputy Chairperson, on a point of order: I rise in terms of Rule 14(r), explanations. I just want to know if the hon David Maynier has got an African sister in the House that speaks or moves in the way that he does? [Laughter.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: No, hon member, that is not a point of order. Hon member, can you continue with the debate?

Ms M KHOZA: Hon Singh knows that I am a very expressive person and I am very proud of that. [Laughter.] Let us not digress, guys, this is very important for all of you. If you have pens, take notes.

 

These pseudo-revolutionaries claim that they are here to liberate young South Africans throughout the country. Some of them claim to have this economic agenda, yet when you actually look at them, the characteristic that is now becoming very pronounced is that they are very disrespectful; have no value systems; confuse being assertive for being rude; and they claim to be the alternative to the ANC. [Applause.]

 

Thirdly, of course, we have a tenderpreneur in the form of hon John Steenhuisen. [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Please, hon member, address other members through me. Don’t interact with them directly.

 

Ms M KHOZA: I am going to repeat this: Corruption is not synonymous with the ANC. These tenderpreneur youth leaders are characterised by instant gratification and high levels of greed. They do not understand the concept of wealth creation. They splash wealth around and are forever in the fast lane.

 

Lastly, and this the worst of them all, the psychologically damaged beyond measure. Typical examples of these are those who now even see positive qualities in Adolf Hitler. That is actually very serious and the worst thing is that they are associated with the knowledge industry, with universities.

 

It is for this reason that as the ANC we are saying there are leadership lessons we can learn from those who have come before us. It is a historical fact that South African youth have always been at the centre of crafting and determining the way forward for our future. We have many examples of honourable young South Africans sharing international experiences with those who have similar experiences as ourselves.

 

One of those is Benjamin Banneker who was born in 1731 as the son of a slave and the grandson of a slave, but defied all odds under the sun and became a mathematician and an amateur astronomer with no formal education. At the age of 30, he took apart a pocket watch and from it designed and constructed a striking wooden clock which operated successfully from 1761 to at least until his death in 1806. He predicted the eclipse of 1789, which no other American scientist had foreseen.

 

One closest to my heart is Pixley ka Isaka Seme, a 30-year-old who in 1911 called for unity amongst the black African people and paved the way for the destruction of artificial boundaries amongst tribes. Today, the ANC reflects that character conceived, moulded and determined by this young black African man. [Applause.]

 

My story would be incomplete if I did not remind our women that we had Charlotte Maxeke, who, at 31 years old, obtained her Bsc degree in 1905. [Applause.] She changed the character, form and philosophy of the ANC when it came to women. She is remembered for her role in challenging the patriarchal mindset within the liberation movement and paved the way for the acceptance of women as full members of the ANC, though decades later.

 

Anton Lembede, the founding president of the ANC Youth League, is known as one of the principal architects of African nationalism. Oliver R Tambo, who was also the founder of the ANC Youth League, was an uncompromising educationist and a passionate teacher of mathematics and science. Nelson Mandela, a student activist, a young and insightful youth leader. He was one of the founders of Umkhonto weSizwe and grew up to become South Africa’s first democratically-elected president and the father of world peace, reconciliation and forgiveness. [Applause.]

 

I also want to say that we have a very young generation like Joel Netshitenzhe. The list is endless and one would not be able to mention them all. He was 20 years old in 1976 and subsequently became one of the pioneers of the South African policies post-1994. There are many inspirational leaders, the list is endless.

 

So, it is up to us as young people to choose the leaders whom we can identify with. We have to be critical and we have to understand that a leader is not just about what he says, but what he does. [Applause.] I also want to say that it is very important that, on this day, we should not forget that there were white youth who were with us during the liberation struggle. [Applause.] Those young white men in the End Conscription Campaign, ECC, chose not to point the mouth of the gun at us as we were demanding our freedom. They chose not to go and serve in the SA National Defence Force. As we commemorate the youth of 1976, let us also remember those, because they are not the preserve of other people. They also belong to us. [Applause.]

 

In closing, the NDP 2030 says:

 

We, the people of South Africa, have journeyed far since the long lines of our first democratic elections on 27 April 1994, when we elected the government for us all, we began to tell a new story then.

 

These stories are what we are telling you today. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

 

Debate concluded.

 

The Joint Sitting adjourned at 16:11.

 

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