ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa says a radical change in the economic landscape is needed.
Ramaphosa has called on young people in the ANC Youth League to stand up and radically push for a complete overhaul of the economy to represent the demographics of South Africa.
The ANC President also says the defunct Youth League must go back to its former glory days of being a radical movement.
A new economic order has been called by Ramaphosa in his address to the party’s Youth League.
Ramaphosa says COVID-19 has presented South Africa with an opportunity to change the economic landscape.
“We want to use this opportunity to forge a new economic path, that is more inclusive, more durable, much more sustainable and more transformative than we had before. We want to build a new economy, a new economic thrust for a new and better society.”
But before the economy is rebuilt, young people will be ones most affected by job losses and closure of businesses due the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ANC President has called on young men to stand up and defend women against the recurring scourge of killing women.
“We have been saddened by the continuous and recurring news of men attacking and killing women in the past few weeks and men continue killing women in the most horrific and barbaric manner. The women of our country feel unsafe in their homes, they don’t feel safe in the workplace as well, places of worship and just walking in the streets”
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers virtual address as part of Youth Month:
Ramaphosa says it is the youth that shaped the ANC and South Africa’s various political phases and that led the party’s armed struggle.
Meanwhile, the Congress of the People has called for the Orlando Stadium to be renamed “Tsietsi Mashinini Stadium” in honour of the 1976 student uprising leader.
COPE says it is time all struggle heroes are honoured, irrespective of which organisation they belonged to.
Other parties have also emphasised the importance of recognising the sacrifices of the youth of 1976.
Youth unemployment needs to be a national priority
Ann Bernstein, Executive Director at the Centre for Development and Enterprise says the challenge of youth unemployment in the country is devastating.
She says dealing with youth unemployment has to be one of the national priorities.
The coronavirus has intensified the desperate situation of the country’s many millions of unemployed young people who will have little to celebrate on June 16.
According to the Centre for Development and Enterprise, government must start focusing on the catalytic changes required to produce faster-growing, targeted interventions and the expansion of public works opportunities have to be part of the solution.
In this video below, Ann Bernstein explains the challenges faced by unemployed youth:
