Former President Kgalema Motlanthe says former Presidents should use their privileged to access sitting president to be champions for the marginalised, like the youth.
Youth Day 2018 will find President Cyril Ramaphosa in Soweto, former President Thabo Mbeki in Turffontein, south of Johannesburg, and former President Kgalema Motlanthe in KwaZulu Natal.
Motlanthe’s foundation will engage thought leaders as part of the youth weekend in the Drakensburg in Kwazulu-Natal in response to Ramaphosa’s Thuma Mina call.
The Kgalema Motlanthe foundation has been working off the radar but the Thuma Mina call has given the former President the confidence to come out.
He has summoned statisticians, economists and the youth to a retreat. They will recommend how to fast track implementation of the National Development Plan for future generations.
Among topics to be discussed, land, jobs, the 4th industrial revolution, and making space for youth participation.
Kgalema Motlanthe says:”One of the reasons why we have Pali Lehohla is to explain that we need to have a model of a future we would like to have, and work towards that future. Otherwise we elevate isolated projects as a plan.”
His High Level Panel on Land legislation said the need to beef up implementation for expropriation is bigger than the need to amend the Constitution.
He says for that implementation to happen across the board, the governing party should loosen its grip on government.
The Inclusive Growth Forum will end on Sunday.
A study by the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG) has found that only 6% of Members of Parliament fit the description of youth – that is the age of 35 and younger.
The monitoring group did the study in the light of the country celebrating Youth day this coming Saturday.
According to PMG, the 6% represents 23 out of the nearly 400 MPs. Eighteen of the 23 are in the National Assembly and five in the National Council of Provinces. The majority of the youth category are female.
