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Youth have harsh words for NYDA

Johannesburg - The youth wings of opposition parties have welcomed the suspension of National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) chief executive Steven Ngubeni.

It was long overdue, the Inkatha Freedom Party Youth Brigade said on Thursday.

"Ngubeni has run the NYDA to the ground, tattering its image, and denigrating its national identity, credibility, and integrity," IFPYB chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said in a statement.

"During Ngubeni's tenure, the NYDA has been plagued by scandal and chaos," Hlengwa said.

The NYDA announced Ngubeni's suspension late on Wednesday. It asked the public and the media to "allow investigations and human resource processes to follow due course". No reasons were given for the suspension.

Democratic Alliance Youth leader Mbali Ntuli said NYDA board chairperson Yershen Pillay needed to explain the suspension.

"Reports in the media this morning [Thursday] imply that financial misconduct has taken place at NYDA. NYDA cannot cover up this latest crisis. Young people and the public need answers."

The NYDA had consistently wasted state resources on a bloated staffing structure which had no real impact on the lives of young South Africans.

"It remains little more than a deployment vehicle for [African National Congress] Youth League cadres to access state resources.

"NYDA is in disarray and is not able to effectively empower young South Africans. It is time to scrap this organisation, and rather spend the money on real programmes that actually impact people’s lives, like bursaries, better education, and a youth wage subsidy to create jobs," Ntuli said.

The Freedom Front Plus youth said the NYDA should explain the move.

"There have already been various allegations of irregularities with regard to Ngubeni in the past three years and it is high time that an investigation is launched," FFPlus youth leader Wouter Wessels said in a statement.

Since its inception, the NYDA had not been functional, but controversial with millions of rand spent on, among other things, festivals, he said.

The NYDA said its deputy executive chairperson Kenny Morolong would serve as acting CEO.

The IFPYB and the FFPlus youth objected to Morolong's appointment.

Wessels said it was unacceptable that Morolong, who was also the North West ANC spokesperson, was appointed.

Hlengwa said Morolong could not be a "referee and player" in running the NYDA.

"The fact that Morolong is also a member of the ANC North West PEC, and also the ANC spokesperson in that province entrenches further the politicisation of the NYDA," he said.

Morolong was not immediately available for comment.

Both the IFPYB and the FFPlus have previously laid complaints against the NYDA.

Wessels said: "It is unacceptable that a public institution which receives millions of rand of taxpayers' money is not accountable to the public."


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