DELEGATES from all corners of the district made up of 86 wards were represented at the Ugu district youth summit which was recently held at the Margate Hotel.
The summit was organised by Ugu Municipality together with the department of community safety and liaison and hosted by the district youth council.
The Ugu municipal manager said that it was sad that the youth of today has become so dependent on the government.
“Yes we are experiencing problems, there are three issues identified by the government, which we have declared as the three imperatives the we need to combat, they are poverty, unemployment and inequality,” said Mr Naidoo. But he also encouraged the youth to work with the government; for example, like starting their own small businesses.
Ugu mayor Ntombifikile Gumede urged the youth to be constructive when raising their grievances instead of taking everything to the street.
“There are many ways through which people can air their grievances instead of turning to violence,” she said. She added that it was worrying to see that most of the people who take part in protests are youth.
The departments were also part of the consultative session and presented programmes and initiatives for young people.
The main concerns in the discussion were education, crime, economic development and tourism. The aim of the session was that there is a paradigm shift in the way the youth intervenes on issues in ensuring a better life for all young people in the district.
The recommendations made will be forwarded to the youth provincial strategy, whose development the office of the premier is facilitating.
