Roodies learners share their thoughts on what they would do if they were president

The Roodepoort Record visited Hoërskool Roodeport’s Grade12s and asked them what they would do if they were elected as the president of South Africa.

This is what they had to say:

• Ayabonga Zondo: “If I were given the privilege to lead the country as the president I would divert the country’s resources towards the great arts. Art is a great way to accomplish national renown in all its existing forms and structures. Let it be dramatic arts, performing art, visual art, or music; our art can express who we are, especially with South Africa being such a beautiful diverse nation. Many countries are well known for their art more than anything. For instance, William Shakespeare’s work lives on long after its establishment and is used as a main source of literature in schools to this day. Our art is our weapon. Our art is who we are. Our art is what we aspire to be.”

• Hunadi Phogole: “I would first want to improve the living conditions of people and give them better housing as it is unsafe for them to live in shacks. Secondly, I would improve on the public education and housing for people who don’t have the necessary funding for it, to still get proper treatment. Thirdly, I would invest more in skills development training programs to lessen the unemployment rate for people who didn’t get the necessary education and skills for the specific job. Most importantly, I would want to change the justice system as I feel like the justice system is failing us because guilty people can easily get away with a lot of things because they can bribe their way out. I would also like to change equality in the workplace, as they say, women can be in senior positions but we never see women in presidential positions, because we are viewed as incapable. I would also implement policies on corruption and introduce military conscription for all youths so that they can learn discipline and accountability. I would also improve safety and security by hiring fit and competent police officers. Lastly, I would implement policies to strengthen the fight against gender-based violence, sexual assault and crime cases.”

• Nombulelo Vacu: “I would try my best to raise awareness on as many careers as possible and acknowledge their importance. Being a matriculant with confusion of careers…while doing research I realised the wide range of careers out there that are underrated but play a huge role in our daily lives. This will prevent having too many people following one career path and essentially minimising the country’s unemployment rate.”