During budget vote debates in the Fourth Raadsaal in Bloemfontein on Tuesday (17/6), EFF MPL Mapheule Liphoko voiced deep concern over the ongoing exclusion of the youth from the province’s and country’s economy, three decades into democracy.

While acknowledging efforts to empower youth with skills, Liphoko criticised the prevailing economic structures for being inherently exclusionary, emphasising that even if the young people were sharpened with skills to the changing world, empowered for meaningful economic participation, the economy will continuously reject them.

He challenged the narratives emerging from the budget speeches, stating that they prioritise job creation while overlooking more transformative economic inclusion.

“It is not their economy, they were meant to be just laborious. That’s why the speeches that were made today in the budget debate are only concentrating mainly on the creation of jobs.”

Young people must be seen not just as workers, but as rightful stakeholders and participants in economic ownership and decision-making, he added.

‘Multiple young people are faced with this scourge of crime’

Drawing attention to worsening social conditions, Liphoko highlighted that Free State youth are also grappling with rising crime, substance abuse, and mental health challenges. “Speaker, there are multiple challenges that face young people in the Free State in particular, crime being one of them.

“We just heard lately Kamogelo was kidnapped, and up to today, we don’t know where he is – and not only him, multiple young people are faced with this scourge of crime all over the province.

“Young people also face challenges of the scourge of drug abuse, addiction, and mental illness, amongst others, as a result of conditions made to allow that.”

Liphoko made an impassioned call for land redistribution as a precondition for youth empowerment. “We are very worried as the EFF that if we do not somehow try to include young people in sectors of the economy, we are going to lose everything that we have – starting with the land.”

He welcomed a comment made by one MEC advocating for land expropriation without compensation. 

“At least in the best interest of young people who are the future of this country, and we know that in all aspects and sectors of the economy, young people will be catered for.

“The EFF rejects the notion that youth should be grateful for stipends and three-month internships. Young people do not want favours – they want freedom.”

He laid out several demands by the party, including:

• The establishment of freely accessible, decolonised technical and vocational colleges in every township and village;
• free data access in all public spaces;
• a focus on sustainable employment instead of temporary programs like EPEP and NYDA gigs; and
• affordable access to urban housing and industrial land, which he said is held hostage by financial institutions.

Liphoko also called for housing and industrial land in urban centres to be made available to young people and not be held by banks, which he said make land extremely expensive.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi mvh