The imbizo’s main aim was to teach men, young women, and girls about their sexual reproductive health and substance abuse.

Due to the high rate of teenage pregnancies, drug addiction, and STI/HIV occurrence in the Xhariep district, the Free State Provincial Government decided to hold the Youth Imbizo there.

School-going teenagers continue engaging in unsafe sex, despite concerns regarding sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/Aids.

The Free State Provincial Government collaborated with a number of stakeholders, such as the Department of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, Civil Society, NYDA, SASSA, Home Affairs, Department of Labour, and Seda to help address substance abuse and educate the youth about their sexual reproductive health.

The purpose of the Imbizo was to reach out to young people who are vulnerable to teenage pregnancies, drug and substance abuse, and a whole range of psychosocial factors which lead to social crimes which makes them more vulnerable.

The purpose was to assist them so that they are filled with hope and able to offer society something meaningful. Also, it was to get them to participate actively as citizens.

According to Sello Dithebe, spokesperson of the Premier, the expectation of the imbizo was to elicit a commentary from young people so that they can give government feedback about the things they are suffering from. The government can then plan around these social ills to help them have a better future.

Policies can also be created to benefit young people instead of policies that are abstract and detached from the everyday lives of the youth.

“The turnout was quite satisfactory and young people have had their say. We can thus plan on the basis of their own experiences and not what is imagined by government officials,” he said.

The premier of the province, Mxolisi Dukwana, is quite adamant that something drastic must be done to turn the lives of the people of the Free State regarding unemployment. Structural unemployment affects young people the most.

The intention of the premier working with the executive council is to ensure that these young people become active and conscious citizens and that they can take responsibility for their own actions and own lives so that they can inherit the future.