Pretoria – Transport Minister Dipuo Peters has called on young people to emulate the youth of 1976 in their desire for quality education in a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous country.
“As government we say, youth empowerment shall remain a central feature of our developmental focus,” she said.
Speaking during a site visit at the Mthatha Airport, Minister Peters said initiatives that relate to putting in place sustainable platforms for economic growth cannot succeed without the massive participation of South Africa’s youth.
“This participation is not only critical towards the empowerment of young people, but also serves as a bridge between the first and second economies.
“We need to respond to the fact that our youth, experience more acutely than other sections of the population, the entry barriers to mainstream economic activities, including a lack of access to capital, skills and experience,” she said.
With regards to road safety, Minister Peters expressed concern saying young people are a high risk population group on the roads because they are inexperienced, overestimate their abilities, their behavioural patterns are strongly associated with social pressures that promote risk on the road.
“Not wearing seat belts, over-speeding, drinking and driving are but some of the ills common amongst the youth. It is for this reason that the Department of Transport is engaging and involving young people throughout the country on road safety in these summits,” the Minister said.
The visit follows the Minister’s visit at the airport in 2015 where she addressed concerns relating to serious safety issues raised by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) and monitoring progress in relation to the development of the airport. – SAnews.gov.za
