Department of Social Development Acting Director-General, Advocate Gugulethu Thimane, has called on government and society to “roll up their sleeves” to ensure that youth are afforded opportunities to work and become a meaningful part of South Africa’s economy.
Thimane delivered an address at the Vaal EmpowaYouth Week engagement, which kicked off in Sebokeng on Monday.
The five-day programme has pulled together stakeholders from across the board and communities to find solutions to challenges facing the area.
“I think we need to roll up our sleeves. We need to work and let the young people benefit so that we can see that there's improvement in terms of the numbers and the quality of life.
“The issue of partnerships is very important… because you cannot run the development of the country without other stakeholders. Whether you’re speaking about the non-profit organisations [or] faith-based organisations,” she told the gathering.
Youth in South Africa make up the biggest slice of the population and yet, young people also face the highest rate of unemployment standing at 43.8% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
“We know that the biggest challenge we have as a country is youth unemployment. It is a serious issue. What is important… is that we need to be coordinated first as government. There are very good programmes that are happening in government for young people. But I think the problem is… we are not coordinated.
“What I want to propose is… [we need a] database that disaggregates the skills that are there… so that we [can] say to industry, 'make sure that we understand the skills levels',” Thimane said.
She assured that government’s Medium Term Development Plan is focused on tackling the challenge of youth unemployment.
“There are three priorities that government took a decision on. The first priority is inclusive growth, so that we make sure that we create more jobs. We must make sure that young people are also included in that priority.
“The second priority… we need to make sure that we address the issue of poverty and the living standards because we have people who are still living below the poverty line. The third priority… was to say that as public administrators, we need to make sure that we build a capable, ethical and developmental State.
“The last part -- the developmental State -- makes sure that young people are included in the mainstream economy. We need to make sure that there’s quality education, [and] that everyone is taken care of,” Thimane said.
Turning to the challenge of substance abuse and other social ills facing the youth, the acting DG encouraged parents and society to play a proactive role in children’s lives.
“We need to make sure that we come up with strategies, rather than being reactive. We need to make sure that prevention is better than cure,” Thimane concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
