Speech Cheryllyn Dudley, MP and Whip
4 June 2013
ACDP says reform NYDA if it is not what it should be for Youth
"Speaker,
The young people I spoke to before this debate were adamant that they have no proper platform where they can raise issues - issues like youth unemployment, an education system that does not prepare youth to enter the job market, crime, education drop outs, alcohol and substance abuse and pregnancy.
"We are the majority" they said "and we are frustrated that 'older' people think they know what young people are experiencing – like the Youth accord that was signed on the 24th April - most of the people there were in their late 50s and yet they think they can address our issues and challenges...if we keep ignoring the young people of this country then we should brace ourselves for a revolution - we need jobs, we need to be developed and we need to be prioritised and treated like real South Africans by being given opportunities as well". "The sad truth Hon Dudley" - one young leader said - "is that if you are a youth in this country who, has never had any work experience and you reach the age of 30, the chances are you won’t get any employment anywhere in the country – other than slaving on a farm. I know how frustrating it is to be a youth in this country" he said - "often top Politicians use that to their advantage to make us step ladders to acquire their political goals. We need real opportunities to prove our worth. A Youth Ministry – in our opinion - is the answer as agencies like the NYDA are not doing us any good. They are there only to carry out the ruling party’s mandate. Right now we are kindly asking but soon we'll be harshly demanding!"
Talking about the NYDA another young person said "How can they assist us if they are 'politically centralised' – there is no representation from the opposition youth formation in the NYDA Leadership - only the YCL and the ANCYL members form the NYDA leadership structure". Now, I don’t know how accurate this statement is but my thought would be – surely we should be looking at reforming the NYDA if it is not being what it needs to be for Youth.
When it comes to the subject of another Ministry however, I must admit – I just can't help being totally skeptical – my reason being - that I don't see how a ministry will be any different from the NYDA in that it will be there to ultimately push through "the ruling party's mandate". On top of this we have the example of another 'wonderful idea' called the Ministry of Women, Children and People with Disabilities which is not there to implement anything – it just looks at what others are supposed to be doing and doesn’t even comment - spends huge amounts of money on salaries for a Minister and Deputy Minister - one third of all staff in the department earn on average R1 million a year , according to Rebecca Davis – plus cars, offices, overseas trips etc – not one cent goes to actually implementing legislation to better the lives of women, children and people with disabilities.
The poor standard of teaching in many schools is leaving many young people at a huge disadvantage. More skills should be taught in schools - most young people in SA leave school equipped to do nothing – at least nothing legal that anyone is prepared to pay to get done! FET colleges are too expensive for most, and the standards are not always what they should be – we must fix this!
Of course you can’t force people to work and success does depend on a willing attitude, a teachable spirit and a good work ethic - a culture of entitlement is not only an employer's nightmare but a nation's worst nightmare!
Dysfunctional home and community backgrounds, as well as negative role models, are highly detrimental to young people succeeding in life - they are too easily sucked into gangs, drugs, sex etc – and they embrace a culture of
seeing no future for themselves. Lifeskills programmes that help youth to make better choices are run by many NGOs but are seriously underfunded and rely on volunteers, so are limited in how many schools and young people they can impact.
Looking beyond all this to the incredible potential of youth I was reminded via twitter - that Bill Gates was 20 years old, Steve Jobs was 21, Warren Buffett was 26, Ralph Lauren 28 and Estée Lauder was 29 when they started their companies that became some of the biggest successes ever known.
Many of the remarkable innovations of the latest generation - including Google, Facebook and Twitter - were all founded by people under 30. Young people 'bring fresh eyes and a new perspective to confronting problems and challenges that others have given up on' says Michael Moritz, a venture capitalist who backed Google, Yahoo and YouTube – 'a generation of people who see no boundaries, see no limits and see no obstacle'.
Some suggest young people have nothing to lose so they can take the risks and having said that – one of the biggest challenges facing this next generation - and one that may prevent more visionary entrepreneurs from succeeding - is the growing level of debt hanging over college students – being burdened like this will make it harder and harder for young people to take those risks.
Talent of course should not be underestimated - but persistence, passion and the willingness to stay up all night working – are probably what really make the difference between an employee and an entrepreneur! I just have to say one more thing – for those who have turned 30 and are just a little depressed by my input so far - don't write yourself off - remember Thomas Edison didn't invent the phonograph until he was 30 and Col Saunders created KFC when he was 70!"
"Thanks to all those who responded and have contributed to this debate through this speech" – Cheryllyn Dudley
For more information contact Cheryllyn Dudley, MP, 082 890 6520(SMS best for urgent response)
Media enquiries: Keeno Petersen, Media Liaison Officer, ACDP - Parliament, Tel: 021-403-3307, Cell: 076-734-9067 or Email:kpetersen@parliament.gov.za
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