By Albert Pule
Port Elizabeth- Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe led a government delegation in a dialogue between government and the youth of Nelson Mandela Metro Municipality.
The dialogue forms part of Motlanthe’s two day visit to the municipality where he will visit various projects and participate in the construction of a house as part of 67 minutes for Mandela Month. The dialogue also forms part of the War on Poverty Programme undertaken by the deputy president.
Addressing an audience of mostly students from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Motlanthe encouraged the youth not to hold back and ask government difficult questions and raise suggestions on what they think needs to be done to solve the challenge of youth unemployment and job creation.
“We are here this afternoon as government to engage, to listen and to be influenced. We should engage this afternoon in this dialogue with open minds and listen very attentively and raise pertinent questions about implementation. Give us our marching orders and we will go and implement.
“We cannot engage in endless discussions without ever testing our ideas in practice because the only way to test the correctness of ideas is to put those ideas into practice” he said to loud cheer from the audience.
Speaking on behalf of the youth, Sicelo Mvelo from the Eastern Cape Youth Council said the municipality should be a leader in dealing with youth development because of its economy.
“Nelson Mandela Bay municipality is commanding more than 55 per cent of the GDP of the Eastern Cape, so it should be leading in terms of youth development and implement the youth development policy adopted by the council in 2004.”
Mvelo also urged Deputy President Motlanthe to put pressure on the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality to implement the youth development policy and allocate resources to the youth unit in the office of the executive mayor.
Among other issues raised by students ranged from problems with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), lack of jobs and the high crime rate in the area. –SAnews.gov.za
