The Youth Need Guidance and Jobs
Tebogo Dikale
June is youth month and it has its own rich storytelling. It is a time when we think of apartheid, when young people took to the street to fight the then apartheid regime of the day imposed Afrikaans as a language of instruction in African schools and the struggle for better education.
Today, with many years gone by after those days in 1976, South Africa is a different place. The fruits of liberation are evident as one can use whatever language one wants to use to learn in. We must give thanks to those young people who were fighting for a just cause.
Many decades later, South Africa is a different country and the youth has the right to raise their voices on the things that concern them. I asked a few young men about how they see life today? This is what they told me:
They raised quite a number of issues relating to the current administration of government which I will not go into here fully. The main complaint is simple: there are no jobs for the youth. Furthermore, they believe many youth are addicted to alcohol and, as a result, suffer drinking problems. They do things they do not want to do because of peer pressure. Absenteeism in schools is widespread because of the absence of a father or father figure.
I took out three things out of our discussion: absenteeism of father, unemployment, and politics. When I heard one of them raise peer pressure in our discussion, I took a swipe and asked the speaker a couple of questions which they dwelled on.
Absenteeism of his father was to loss of life due to cancer while his father was working from the mine. The absence of the fatherly guide is sorely missed. The mines did not take responsibility for the illness while his father was still working there. I learnt that the unions are also failing its workers.
They also raised a problem of drinking alcohol. I then asked how we solve this problem of drinking as young people. One of them mentioned sports, saying it can take away young people from the streets and contribute positively to good health. This gives rise to other problems. We do not have quality sporting facilities. Our area is lacking sports facilities such as netball, swimming, soccer, volleyball, basketball. That’s what they said.
On the issue of unemployment affecting the youth population between the ages of 18 to 35, they can’t access work as the government is not creating job opportunities for them. Job creation is needed so the youth can contribute to the economy and society. Trying to create jobs is difficult because of red tape. When you go to banks trying to access funding, this is almost impossible.
I know that job creation is not only done by the government but also the companies. This must be done as a matter of urgency. The young people I had a conversation with finished basic education in 2021 and now they can’t access job opportunities and contribute to the economy. Some are relying solely on grandparents for support from government grants.
Finally, I asked them how they feel about the current political situation. They do not see the necessity of political parties as they struggle with a lot of things i.e right to water, the current load-shedding. They also ask themselves what’s the use of going to vote when politicians forget them as soon as they get into power.
