MBOMBELA – Hundreds of young people from around the province engaged government leaders in an open dialogue organised by the Office of the Premier.
MECs and HODs from different departments answered questions from the youth regarding the problems they were faced with.
Among other burning issues, the youth raised the problem of unemployment which some of them attributed to government’s demand of working experience from newly graduates. Some complained about lack of training for graduates and the marginalisation of disabled people.
They also had a feeling that their needs were not adequately met because their office was under the Department of Social Development. They believed the department had enough duties to accommodate their interests.
“We call the premier to take out the office of the persons with disabilities from the department because it overlooks us when it comes to supporting us,” said Mr Moses Mlambo.
He added that their office should be led by a disabled person who understands from experience the needs of fellow impaired people.
The youth seems to be completely uninformed with regard to the route they need to take when applying for funding from the government. Some said corruption was prevalent when they applied for government funding.
“We have corrupt officials who remove our documents when we apply for government aid as a result our application become unsuccessful,” said Mr Lungane Nkuna, representing Youth in Business.
The government was challenged to support up-and-coming musicians and other people in the art sector.
According to MEC for economic development and tourism, Mr Eric Kholwane, the government is planning to put youth in strategic government parastatals such as Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency and the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency as ex-officio members so they have a feeling of the corporate world.
“That will train them to be business leaders in the future and build an empire made up of young people,” he said.
Kholwane also added that the challenge lied upon the government to respond to the needs of the youth.
The chairman of the Youth Desk in the Office of the Premier, Mr Desmond Moela, said his office will ensure that relevant MECs and government leaders respond adequately to the complaints.
Also read:
ANCYL cause havoc at road safety summit
Activities for youth month activated
