Pretoria – President Jacob Zuma will next week meet with youth organisations in Pretoria during the inaugural session of the Presidential Youth Working Group.
The President and representatives of various youth organisations are expected to discuss the National Youth Policy and issues related to the socio-economic development and empowerment of the youth in the country.
The Presidential Youth Working Group brings together government and youth formations to enable the youth to play a part in shaping policy and governance at the highest level, said the Presidency on Sunday.
President Zuma is supported by the Presidential Youth Development Task Team, comprising deputy ministers led by the Deputy Minister for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Buti Manamela, as well as the National Youth Development Agency, led by Chairperson Yershen Pillay.
The youth delegates represent various sectors including professional associations, agriculture, business, education and skills development, religious sector and organisations working in the realm of social development.
“I have established this Presidential Youth Working Group to accelerate the implementation of all government programmes that will enable many more young people to lead meaningful and productive lives.
“It is a strategic platform for government and we expect to engage other social partners such as labour and business on matters that will arise from the work of the working group,’’ said President Zuma.
Among the issues on the agenda is the National Youth Policy 2020, which is anchored on the National Development Plan and aims to respond to four big challenges faced by young people. These are joblessness, poor skills levels, poor health care access including reproductive health care, a divided nation and drug and substance abuse.
According to the Presidency, the policy outlines initiatives and programmes that respond to these challenges which hinder young people from taking charge of their destiny.
These initiatives include capitalising on the R2.7 billion made available by both the IDC and Small Enterprise Finance Agency to finance youth-owned enterprises, accelerating the implementation of the Youth Employment Accord of 2013 and introducing interventions to provide unemployed and poor young people with income and opportunities for community service and engagement
They further include ensuring that youth brigades coordinated with the National Youth Service engage one million young people over a period of two years as per the New Growth Path.
The Department of Basic Education, working with private providers, should support learners who need a second chance to pass matric and matric rewrite programmes should be supported and widely known.
The Department of Higher Education must develop an articulation policy to harmonise education between schools, adult basic education and training centres, community colleges, training and vocational education colleges, universities and other providers of education and training. – SAnews.gov.za
