Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance will continue to pressure the government to implement the youth wage subsidy as a means to uplift communities in both an economic and deep psychological sense, the party's parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said on Thursday.
Mazibuko, addressing the Adele Searl 100 Club in Cape Town, said the subsidy will make it cheaper and easier to employ young workers to gain experience and begin their careers.
"About 72% of South Africans under the age of 34 are unemployed. Imagine the psychological impact, the mood swing, if we could halve that number?" asked Mazibuko.
"This is why the DA will keep fighting in parliament for its (the youth wage subsidy's) implementation."
She said the youth represents a massive opportunity for change in South Africa.
"South Africa is young. More than half of our population is under the age of 35. That equates to more than 26 million people. At an extreme, more than 10 million of our people are children under the age of 10.
"This is our chance as a nation to create a generation that is educated, principled and enthusiastic about their future."
Citing education, ethics and enthusiasm as the building blocks of empowerment, Mazibuko said South Africa needs to give its youth all the support it can to provide the environment where hard work and determination can equal aspiration.
"I don’t mean empowerment in the BEE sense...I mean empowerment where you develop the ability of a young individual to believe that with hard work and perseverance you can fulfil your aspirations."
Referring to the elections next year, Mazibuko said the youth will also be the single biggest game changer for South Africa.
"In May next year, six million new young voters have the chance to vote for the first time...(youngsters) that care about their future...They care about whether they will step into a growing economy that is the engine room of Africa...," she said.
She said young people vote like they listen to music. "They want to hear what is on the chart now and not what was on the chart 20 years ago.
"For many young people, what is on the chart now doesn’t sound very good."
Low levels of registration among these youngsters posed a real challenge, she said.
- Fin24
Mazibuko, addressing the Adele Searl 100 Club in Cape Town, said the subsidy will make it cheaper and easier to employ young workers to gain experience and begin their careers.
"About 72% of South Africans under the age of 34 are unemployed. Imagine the psychological impact, the mood swing, if we could halve that number?" asked Mazibuko.
"This is why the DA will keep fighting in parliament for its (the youth wage subsidy's) implementation."
She said the youth represents a massive opportunity for change in South Africa.
"South Africa is young. More than half of our population is under the age of 35. That equates to more than 26 million people. At an extreme, more than 10 million of our people are children under the age of 10.
"This is our chance as a nation to create a generation that is educated, principled and enthusiastic about their future."
Citing education, ethics and enthusiasm as the building blocks of empowerment, Mazibuko said South Africa needs to give its youth all the support it can to provide the environment where hard work and determination can equal aspiration.
"I don’t mean empowerment in the BEE sense...I mean empowerment where you develop the ability of a young individual to believe that with hard work and perseverance you can fulfil your aspirations."
Referring to the elections next year, Mazibuko said the youth will also be the single biggest game changer for South Africa.
"In May next year, six million new young voters have the chance to vote for the first time...(youngsters) that care about their future...They care about whether they will step into a growing economy that is the engine room of Africa...," she said.
She said young people vote like they listen to music. "They want to hear what is on the chart now and not what was on the chart 20 years ago.
"For many young people, what is on the chart now doesn’t sound very good."
Low levels of registration among these youngsters posed a real challenge, she said.
- Fin24