More needed to be done to tackle youth unemployment

Government was reportedly not doing enough to tackle issues that faced the youth, particularly unemployment, youths in the north of Pretoria said.

These youths were responding to addresses made by president Cyril Ramaphosa and Tshwane mayor Randall Williams on the annual commemoration of Youth Day last week Wednesday.

“No, I feel government is not doing enough at all,” Lerato Motale said.

This as she responded to Rekord’s questions about whether or not she felt as though government was doing enough to tackle the high rate of unemployment in the country and what could be done to change this.

According to StaticsSA the official unemployment rate among youth (15-34 years) was 46,3% in the first quarter of 2021. The rate was 9,3% among university graduates.

“They [people in government] should stop being paid inflated salaries and using money belonging to the state to fund their lavish lifestyles,” Motale said.

She further noted that while entrepreneurship was an alternative to unemployment, “we cannot all be entrepreneurs”.

“Not everyone is innovative and, even if they were, they don’t always have the necessary funds for their businesses.”

Motale further said that partnerships between government and the private sector to tackle youth unemployment could ultimately prove unsuccessful as money would either be used inappropriately or be used to aid corruption.

READ MORE: Corrupt officers will face the music, says TMPD head

Echoing similar sentiments was Lehlohonolo Mokonoto who said unemployment in the country would continue to rise as long as corruption was allowed to run rampant.

Mokonoto added that the youth were not given adequate chances due to some of the requirements related to getting employed.

“Most posts in government are filled by people who are well over the age of retirement while other jobs require young people to have years of experience to fill certain positions – these are barriers to entry,” she said.

Mokonoto added that another problem was that in some industries, people did not work in line with their qualifications, despite sometimes being overqualified.

Another youth Kgomotso Matlaisane also said the varying spheres of government were also not doing enough to create employment opportunities.

“I think widespread corruption is a major reason why there’s a hindrance in the creation of employment.

“If all this money was not stolen from state coffers, more money would be available to create employment opportunities and even offer loans to up-and-coming youth who needed funding for their businesses,” he said.

Matlaisane said that another problem is that the empowerment of youth in the country compared to the broader global scale, lagged behind as they were not prioritised.

Making his address last week, mayor Randall Williams said youth unemployment remained one of the country’s “most intractable challenges” which were worsened by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

“While our economic climate is challenging, I know our youth have great potential and have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy.”

He also called the youth to be active participants of the democracy by registering to vote in the upcoming local government elections so they could vote for and elect leadership which would take interest in their issues and address them accordingly.

“As young people, the future of our country is in your hands,” Williams said.

Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that while “South Africa is infinitely a better place than it was in 1976”, nearly 64% of young people were unemployed.

“This is something no country can afford. Young people are the force that drives a country and grows s economy,” he said.

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