POLITICS

NYDA Chair wasting money on self-promotion - DA Youth

Luyolo Mphithi says Sifiso Mtsweni's use of Solomon Mahlangu is in poor taste

DA Youth calls for NYDA Chair to resign over wasting public money on self-promotion and not on youth jobs

The Democratic Alliance (DA) Youth calls for the resignation of the Chairperson of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), Sifiso Mtsweni, who used the life and legacy of Solomon Mahlangu to promote himself. This is a tasteless act, which has left South Africa’s youth in a state of shock who have questioned the agency’s role in job creation and the empowerment of South Africa’s  6 million unemployed youth.

The official unveiling of the revamped Mahlangu tombstone took place in Mamelodi and to the surprise of many, it also was engraved with the name of the NYDA Executive Chairperson, Sifiso Mtsweni.

The DA Youth condemns this populistic stunt by the NYDA, to use the tombstone of Kalushi to gain relevance for their Chairperson. It is a disgrace to try to claim easy victories in this manner while millions of young people remain unemployed. It is a disgrace that this entity sat and agreed to waste money on the promotion of Mtsweni.

This is a new low for the NYDA board.

The NYDA has a long legacy of self-enrichment while leaving the youth of the country to suffer. Once again those who have made zero contribution to uplifting the lives of South Africans are trying to associate themselves with those who sacrificed their lives for this cause for the youth of this country.

Mtsweni has this morning backtracked on this stunt by agreeing to remove his name from Kalushi’s tombstone.

We urge the NYDA to focus on what it is there to do, which is to champion the plight of young people in South Africa and advocate for job opportunities throughout the country, rather than being a platform for the ANC to promote itself and line the pockets of the organisation’s leadership.

The DA Youth reminds all young people of the 6 million jobless young South Africans, half of those being graduates. Instead of populist grandstanding stunts, the NYDA is to be reminded that behind the numbers and statistics are the faces and stories of young people, who go every day without opportunities. The longer they remain unemployed, the less likely they will be employed in the future.

Only the DA can deliver the kind of change that creates job opportunities for the youth of South Africa.

The only tombstone that the NYDA should be engraving their name to, is that of jobless young people.

Statement issued by Luyolo Mphithi, Federal DA Youth Leader, 11 July 2018