President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver an update on presidential initiatives aimed at stimulating youth employment at a local stadium in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.
The Youth Day Commemoration will be celebrated under the theme: “Promoting sustainable livelihood and resilience of young people for a better tomorrow”.
The main event will be hosted in accordance with COVID-19 regulations on outdoor gatherings at Mthatha Stadium.
Tackling youth unemployment with Melanie Ann Bauer
Meanwhile, Economics lecturer at Rhodes University, David Fryer says youth unemployment has been on the rise in the country for over a decade and the trend is set to continue for a while.
“If you go back to pre-94, there was really massive unemployment in the Eastern Cape. It trended upwards after ’94 and then sort of plateaued and then after 2008 and particularly after COVID it’s been going up. It’s kind of been an indicator of the state of the country. So unless we start to make progress on a broader front, in terms of governance policy formation implementation, it is just going to go up and up,” says Fryer.
The youth in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro have described the high unemployment rate in the province as frustrating. The metro has a staggering unemployment rate of 35.7%.
Luntu Taule is an unemployed youth from the metro:
“For my survival, it’s not easy. Currently, i’m still hustling looking for a job but I sell sweets and energy drinks in the meantime. I have to keep busy. I have to keep moving otherwise if I sit still I’m going to fall into depression. I don’t want to be like these guys on the corners doing the drugs and falling into the wrong things. The money I make isn’t even enough to buy electricity but I have to keep moving,” says Taule.
NYDA’s Asanda Luwaca on Youth Day
