State of the Nation: Five key reforms that will change the lives of South Africa's youth
Next week the President will set out his key areas of focus for South Africa in the coming year. With close to 70% of South Africa's population under the age of 35 and youth making up some of the most vulnerable individuals in society, it is vital that the needs of young South Africans are given specific attention by the President in his State of the Nation speech.
With this in mind, the DA Youth has set out below five of the most pressing youth-related issues that we feel the President should address. We believe that if each of our proposed interventions is adopted during 2012, it will contribute significantly to increased opportunities for young people and will see a marked improvement in the quality of life in South Africa.
Over the next year the DA Youth will continue to lobby government on the following issues and will monitor and hold them to account for their progress:
1. Implement a Youth Wage Subsidy
With 72% of the unemployed population of 4.5 million people younger than 34, youth unemployment has reached crisis point. The DA Youth has repeatedly lobbied for the introduction of a youth wage subsidy, which would lower the effective cost of employment and create hundreds of thousands of jobs without an adjustment of wages or conditions of employment, all whilst acting as an incentive for on-the-job training.
The Finance Minister announced in 2011 that the Treasury would move forward with the implementation of a youth wage subsidy. However, this has now been delayed by NEDLAC where we suspect Cosatu and other organisations are pressuring government to abandon it. The President must show decisive leadership on this matter and confirm that a youth wage subsidy will be implemented in 2012.
2. Reform the National Student Financial Aid Scheme
The DA Youth believes that the doors of higher learning need to be open to all South Africans that have the talent and commitment to qualify for admission to university, regardless of their circumstances, and that no individual deserving and capable of attending a tertiary institution should be unable to on the basis of finance. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), designed to enable this process, is currently fraught with red tape and is not reaching nearly as many needy students as it either could or should. Since the scheme's inception, only 19% of NSFAS beneficiaries have successfully graduated from university.
In 2011, the DA Youth handed a discussion document to the Minister of Higher Education setting out a number of proposals for reforms to NSFAS that would make it function more effectively, including the proposal that students should have the option to repay loans through service to the state year on year in a student's field of study, that socio-economic status rather than race should be used as a proxy for support and that loans should be converted to bursaries on a sliding scale directly linked to academic performance in order to encourage academic excellence.
We urge the President to announce the implementation of these and other reforms to NSFAS that will enable young South Africans to truly achieve academic freedom.
3. De-politicise the National Youth Development Agency
Since its inception, the National Youth Development Agency has been fraught with scandal. The DA Youth has advocated since 2010 that one of the main reasons for this has been the extreme politicisation of the national and provincial NYDA boards. Some of the actions of these almost exclusively ANC Youth League (ANC YL) dominated boards include R187.5 million, or a staggering 48% of the NYDA's annual youth development budget, being spent on inflated salaries for its 363-strong staff; the spending of R106 million of state funds, meant to help young South Africans, on the ANC YL-hosted World Festival of Youth and Students; most recently, the endorsement by the NYDA of the ANC YL's economic freedom marches in October 2011 - an unprecedented demonstration of political bias by a state entity.
President Zuma needs to announce the depoliticisation of the NYDA's national and provincial boards so that their huge youth development budget can start benefitting those who need it the most and not the pockets of ANC YL cronies.
4. Scrap the VAT on books
The DA Youth has been campaigning since 2010 for the VAT on books to be zero-rated as we believe that a tax on books is a tax on learning, knowledge and literacy. We need to prioritise measures to promote literacy and education, and we believe that a zero-rating on books would be a cost-effective measure to contribute towards this.
Education and the promotion of literacy are powerful weapons in the fight to eradicate poverty. Information is not only a basic requirement for democracy to flourish through the exchange of ideas; it also opens the door to economic participation.
We strongly encourage the President to announce that in 2012, VAT will be scrapped on books.
5. Declare teaching an essential service
The call for teaching to be declared an essential service was first made by the DA in 2010, when we submitted an application to the Essential Services Committee supported by a national petition conducted by the DA Youth.
South African children receive one of the worst standards of education in the world; a fact confirmed by a variety of studies. There are many reasons for this, but it is certain that nothing can be done to improve the situation without first having all teachers in their classrooms for all the hours that their contracts require them to be there.
We urge the President to support the DA's application to the Essential Services Committee in the interests of securing a positive and stable learning environment in our schools.
Statement issued by Mbali Ntuli, DA Youth Chairperson, February 5 2012
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
