The Unity government will implement youth empowerment policy: Mashatile

Vice President Paul Mashatile on Sunday assured the country’s youth that the recent Government of National Unity (GNU) agreement would not affect programs aimed at empowering young people, including the free higher education they received under the previous government.

Speaking at the Youth Day main event at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Limpopo, Mashatile said GNU would continue with programs aimed at youth empowerment.

We are confident that under the leadership of President Ramaphosa and the ANC-led government of national unity, we will continue to address the challenges facing young people in this country. Therefore, over the next five years, our focus will be on creating jobs and building an inclusive and growing economy.

“We will equally focus on implementing programs that focus on equipping youth with future skills,” he said.

READ ALSO | Memories of Youth Day

Celebrated every year on June 16, Youth Day is a national event commemorating the 1976 students, some of whom lost their lives during this year’s student protests against the introduction of Afrikaans as a compulsory subject in black schools.

The protest was led by prominent students such as Tsietsi Mashinini and Hector Pietersen, who was shot dead by apartheid police during a protest on June 16, 1976.

Mashatile said the June 1976 student-led protest then led to the country’s liberation in 1994. “It was a brave act of defiance against a system that tried to suppress their potential and destroy their dreams. The ideals for which they lived and died should serve as a great source of inspiration for all the youth of our country striving for inclusive economic growth.

As we overcome economic challenges, we urge youth to adopt the same attitude as Hector Peterson, Mbuyisa Makhubu, Tsietsi Mashinini and all the youth of 1976 whose sacrifices gave birth to our political freedom. Their efforts have put us on the right path towards a South Africa that is non-racial, non-sexist and democratic.

“It is because of their contribution that we were able to vote in the seventh national and provincial elections, in which over 16 million South Africans exercised their democratic right to vote without fear or intimidation,” he said.

Under the previous administration, the state had to cut spending on some youth empowerment programs due to a lack of funds caused by economic stagnation.

Mashatile, however, said the government had done everything in its power to empower youth despite difficult economic conditions.

READ ALSO | Political parties celebrate Youth Day in KZN

“Over the years, we have invested enormously in a transformed education system. We are proud that our spending on education, as a percentage of total government spending and GDP, far exceeds the standards set by UNESCO, which recommends 15-20% of public spending and 4-6% of GDP on education.

“Despite the country’s difficult financial situation, the government continues to invest in developing the human capital of young people, committing R31.8 billion to primary education in 2023 and R130.1 billion to post-secondary education and training in 2022.” – he said.