ANC Youth League (ANCYL) spokesperson, Magdalene Moonsamy, says the youth must continue to demand for economic freedom in our lifetime. “This is the message that the ANCYL has been calling for in the current environment, that we find ourselves in post liberation. One would look at the conditions of young people; unemployment, poverty and inequality continue to plague our society – in particular, the generation that are coming – like it has plagued the generation of the past,” says Moonsamy in her Youth Day message.
June 16, Youth Day, is a significant day in South African history. Previously known as Soweto Day, it signifies the sacrifices made by the students that took part in the Soweto and related student uprisings of 1976. Students protested for better education.
Today, the day is commemorated in South Africa as a national holiday. Youth day, as it is known, honors all young people who lost their lives in the struggle against Apartheid and Bantu Education. The ANCYL says in today’s struggle, young people want the economy to be transformed so that they can be actively involved in the mainstream economy. “So that we can ensure that the land issue is resolved as hastily as possibly – expropriation without compensation so that we are able to enjoy the resources that lie beneath our sorrow for the upliftment of the lives of our young people and our people,” Moonsamy added.
“Young people must continue to freely express themselves, their voices must be heard throughout all levels of society .”
The Youth League is also of the view that young people must continue to freely express themselves, their voices must be heard throughout all levels of society and they must be active agents for change in their generation and generations to come.
She says young people have always been the ones to fight for the cause at hand. She cited the generation of Zulu king, Shaka Zulu and the generation of 1976, who fought what they believed in. She says the current generation must fight for the land to be brought back to indigenous people. This year the main celebrations of Youth Day will be held Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, at the Wolfson Stadium. President Jacob Zuma is expected to deliver the keynote address.
– By Khensane Maranele
