Youth Day: ANC-DA coalition should work to achieve dreams of 1976 generation

16 June 2024

More than 40 years after the events of 16 June 1976, ActionSA believes the ANC-DA national coalition should expedite efforts to achieve the ideals of the 1976 generation by working towards a more prosperous and equal South Africa.

Paying my respects to those who lost their lives in the 1976 uprising in Soweto and Alexandra alongside Gauteng Provincial Chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni, Youth Forum leader Hluphi Gafane and Gauteng Youth Forum leader, Advice Chuma on Sunday Morning, I mentioned how it’s simply unacceptable that 30 years into democracy, many South Africans are still excluded from tertiary education or receive substandard education. These injustices are the very same injustices that those in the 1976 uprisings fought against.

It is totally unacceptable, 30 years after the attainment of democracy, that 80% of public schools are dysfunctional, with learners unable to read for meaning, with educational outcomes rendering our youth unemployable.

The new government should therefore directly address these injustices head on by expanding tertiary education including, improving basic education outcomes and providing opportunities for all those leaving school, including investments in Early Childhood Development Centres. We need more opportunities for our youth to get technical training as well. It is imperative that we do not fail the youth of today as we have failed the youth of 1976.

As a constructive opposition in both the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures, ActionSA will not hesitate to keep the ANC-DA coalition accountable where it fails to achieve social justice or provide opportunities for our people. We will use our position in legislative platforms to push our own policies, including igniting job creation, implementing an Opportunity Fund to undo the legacy of Apartheid and ensuring that no academically deserving student is excluded from tertiary education.

It is possible to achieve a more prosperous and equal future in South Africa, but only if we take action today. It’s only through making the difficult decisions to build a better tomorrow that we can fix our country. Because, only Action will fix South Africa.

Issued by Herman Mashaba, President, ActionSA, 17 June 2024