Youth activism declines
2003-02-03 19:09
Johannesburg - The ANC Youth League, concerned about a dramatic drop in political activity among young people, said on Monday it plans to campaign for more resources to be set aside for improving living conditions and opportunities for the youth.
African National Congress Youth League president Malusi Gigaba, addressing a media conference in Johannesburg after a weekend meeting of the league's national executive, said that political activism had fallen since the 1990s.
The league had started a campaign to mobilise young people ahead of the next general election and it would soon embark on an extensive drive to encourage young voters to obtain the correct ID documents and register to vote.
Research by Statistics South Africa and other bodies indicated that among the problems facing young people were unemployment, lack of economic opportunities, lack of relevant skills and the prevalence of HIV/Aids.
These and other issues had demoralised many young people, Gigaba said.
The youth, however, remained a critical and active player in the reconstruction and development of the country.
A huge amount of work had been done by the government, the Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF), the National Youth Commission (NYC) and other agencies with regards to the plight of the youth. However, Gigaba said, these efforts had not significantly changed the situation.
"This is, in part, due to the lack of coordination by these structures and lack of information on the side of general youth.
"No sufficient resources are being mobilised for and invested in youth empowerment and development. The private sector has also played a very minimal role in this regard," he said.
The ANCYL would recommend to the UYF and NYC that they fast-track youth cooperative programmes and other self-employment projects that were currently on the pipeline.
"We will continue to fight with government to ensure that it accelerates the implementation of the National Youth Service Programme without any further delay," Gigaba said.
On the looming United States-led war on Iraq, Gigaba said the ANCYL would take part in anti-war campaigns.
If the US went ahead with an attack on Iraq, the ANCYL would back calls for the US to be suspended from the United Nations.
"We support the efforts of our government and other progressive governments in the world to dissuade the US and UK governments from the war and to persuade the Iraq authorities to cooperate fully with the UN (weapons) inspectors."
Gigaba called on all young people in South Africa to join anti-war marches organised for the February 15 and 19.
- SAPA