Speaking during the Youth Month debate at Southern Life Plaza in Bloemfontein on Tuesday (23/6), DA MPL David Mark Campbell McKay argued the democratic government had failed to deliver on the promises made to the youth who fought against apartheid.

“Under apartheid, young people were denied opportunities by racist law. Under the ANC, many are denied opportunities by corruption, state failure, collapsing schools, cadre deployment, economic mismanagement and political incompetence.”

June remains an important month in South Africa’s history, McKay said, as the country remembers the sacrifices made by the youth of 1976 who stood up against apartheid oppression.

“In June, we commemorate the past. On 16 June in particular, we commemorate a day meant to honour the youth of 1976. A day when young people, armed with nothing but hope and righteous anger, marched into the jaws of apartheid cruelty.”

While the struggle against apartheid had been won, many of the aspirations of the youth of 1976 remained unrealised, he said. “They marched for dignity, for education, for a future that was theirs to shape. But let’s be honest, the ideals of 1976 haven’t been fulfilled. Not in South Africa, not in the Free State, not in the heart of this nation.”

“Not everywhere it matters for the youth. They still wake up hungry, they still walk to broken schools, and they still remain in the grip of unemployment,” he said.

Bleak picture

McKay painted a bleak picture of the state of young people in South Africa, saying many remain unemployed, undereducated and forgotten. Drawing parallels with other painful chapters in South Africa’s history, he called for the suffering of young people across generations to be remembered.

He referred to the concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer War, where thousands of children died because of political decisions. He then linked that suffering to the generation of 1976, many of whom sacrificed their education during the struggle against apartheid.

“In 1976, another generation suffered and boycotted school because of circumstances, and became soldiers in the revolution. Many never finished school, many never escaped poverty, and many never found work,” he said.

‘The faces have changed, but the suffering has not’

“Today, in the Free State and across the country, the circle continues. The faces have changed, but the suffering has not.”

Youth unemployment remains one of the greatest failures of democratic South Africa, he added. The Free State continues to experience one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the country, while South Africa remains among the worst-performing nations globally in creating jobs for young people.

“Entire communities are filled with young adults who have never held a job, who have never known the dignity of work, and who have abandoned hope.”

Questioning the significance of Youth Day celebrations under such conditions, McKay argued that government could no longer rely on rhetoric while young people continued to suffer.

“The answer to the challenges faced by young people cannot be the same repetition of rhetoric. At some point, responsibility lies with the ruling party, which has governed for more than three decades. Accountability must replace excuses.”

His remarks echoed concerns previously raised by the ANC Youth League in the province. In June last year, ANCYL members marched to the Office of the Premier, demanding that youth unemployment in the Free State be declared a disaster.

During that march, Free State ANCYL chairperson Junior Lehlehla delivered a fiery address, calling for urgent intervention. “We are here to demand. We will not stop until we see real, concrete results on the ground.”

“We demand jobs, we demand jobs, and we demand jobs! We demand economic freedom for the youth of the Free State, and we want it now, not later,” declared Lehlehla.

The worsening unemployment crisis was a direct result of outdated economic policies that continue to exclude young people from meaningful participation in the economy, he said.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi sm

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