Deputy President Paul Mashatile says government will continue leading from the front in creating a conducive environment for economic growth, education, safety and opportunity.
Addressing the Youth Day commemoration in the North West, Deputy President Mashatile urged the private sector to help create opportunities by investing, hiring, and supporting youth innovation.
“I want to emphasise that the youth deserve nothing less than a future where their skills, creativity, and determination can flourish in a changing world. To the youth, do not give up in pursuing a better future for yourselves and the country. Your voice, your ideas, and your energy are the fuel that can rebuild this country.
“We therefore invite you to be part of the upcoming National Dialogue to shape the future trajectory of our country. To parents, teachers, and communities, let us support and guide our children,” the Deputy President said on Monday.
READ I National Convention to set agenda for the National Dialogue
This year’s National Youth Day event took place under the theme: “Skills for the Changing World – Empowering Youth for Meaningful Economic Participation”.
This is a call to all government entities and its strategic partners to accelerate and enhance meaningful interventions in bridging the gap between skills development programmes and services available for access by youth to realise economic gain.
“As government, we offer various programmes to support young entrepreneurs, including financial assistance, business development services, and skills training.
“We need to encourage young people to look into starting their own businesses instead of waiting for employment. In this day and age, entrepreneurship is one of the keys to building a better future,” Deputy President Mashatile said.
He informed young people that the National Youth Development Agency's Grant Programme and Youth Challenge Fund are key initiatives, along with the launch of a R20 billion annual Transformation Fund for the next five years, aimed at boosting Black-owned businesses and historically disadvantaged groups.
“These funds will act as a catalyst to attract other funds to enhance support of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises. Additionally, government is promoting youth participation in the digital economy through initiatives like the Digital Economy Masterplan and the National Digital and Future Skills Strategy.
“These initiatives inspire hope in our quest to create employment and entrepreneurship for young people,” he said.
The Deputy President acknowledged that government could do more to create an enabling environment for young people.
“We must speed up the execution of existing legislation and regulations to make a meaningful contribution to the lives of the youth.
“As part of assisting young entrepreneurs with quick turnaround on invoice payments, we have proposed a War Room on Clean Governance. Part of the main priorities of the Clean Governance War Room will be the prioritisation of the 10 – 15-day payment cycles and Transformative Procurement of small businesses,” Deputy President Mashatile said.
30 years of democracy
While challenges remain, the Deputy President reflected on some of the major victories that the democratic dispensation has registered in advancing youth empowerment since 1994.
“Firstly, at the basic education level, we have transformed the matric pass rate from 58% in 1994 to a historic 87.3% in 2024. This is the result of three decades of making education an apex priority of government.
“Our basic education system has gradually transformed whilst redressing the generational legacies of Verwoerd's Bantu Education System. While we are not yet where we wish to be, we are also far from the inequality and disregard inherited in 1994,” he said.
In higher education, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFA) is a catalyst for widening access to higher education for the marginalised.
The scheme has grown from a modest budget of R33 million in 1991, serving only 7 240 students, to over R52 billion today, funding more than 1.1 million students at universities and TVET colleges.
“As a result of this sustained investment, the demographic composition of our higher education system has been fundamentally transformed. In 1994, there were 266 190 Black students, representing 50.4% of the total student population. By 2020, that number had grown to 862 313 Black students, constituting 80% of enrolments.
“In 2017, our government restructured NSFAS, converting it from a predominantly loan-based scheme into a grant system to ensure that higher education does not become a debt sentence for our young people,” Mashatile said.
This support includes the NYDA's Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship, which continues to advance the educational aspirations of youth from rural and township communities.
Government has also met and surpassed gender parity in higher education participation rates, with over 60% of graduates from colleges and universities now being young women.
“As the demand for education continues to grow, it is only natural that challenges around accommodation and the administration of NSFAS have emerged.
“However, we are encouraged by the efforts of the Department of Higher Education and Training, which are currently underway to ensure that no deserving student is left behind,” the Deputy President said.
Over the past five years, several mass youth employment programmes have been implemented across the length and breadth of the country to respond to the challenge of youth unemployment.
The Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) was launched in 2020 to cultivate sustainable earning opportunities for young people from all walks of life.
“The latest quarterly report confirms that over 4.7 million young people are now registered on the National Pathway Management Network, with more than 1.6 million earning opportunities secured through a variety of initiatives and partnerships.
“At the beginning of this month, 205 000 young people were placed in jobs through Phase 5 of the Basic Education Employment Initiative as part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus,” he said.
Government has also implemented the Social Employment Fund, managed by the Industrial Development Corporation, which has been designed to address unemployment and promote social value through "whole of society" approaches. -SAnews.gov.za
