MEC out of touch with reality of youth unemployment

MEC out of touch with reality of youth unemployment

By BRIAN KAJENGO 

DA says Mpumalanga culture, sport and recreation MEC Norah Mahlangu must face the facts that short term Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) jobs are an insufficient response to Mpumalanga’s rising youth unemployment crisis.

During a radio interview last week, MEC Mahlangu mentioned EPWP projects as an integral part of government’s plan to end youth unemployment. Yet, since Mpumalanga started implementing the EPWP, youth unemployment stands at 40,5%, more than the national average of 36,1%.

The fact is that menial short term jobs do not enhance skills development, and in many instances EPWP projects are sometimes so poorly managed, that workers get paid to do nothing – such as at the Nooitgedacht Nature Reserve, where workers sat around for two months waiting for uniforms and equipment.

Young people are at risk of being left behind by a lack of education, study funding and poor work prospects, and government needs to ensure that every qualifying matric be given the opportunity to further their education, that every school delivers quality basic education, and that more job opportunities be created for young people.

In response to the youth unemployment crisis, the DA has formulated a petition and has been circulating it throughout the province, calling on government to:

·         Increase the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to R16 billion a year, giving qualifying matrics access to university;

·         Ensure that all schools deliver the same quality of education, and enhancing the quality of education by internationally benchmarking and independently marking Annual National Assessment  exams for Grade 3, 6 and 9s;

·         Create more internship opportunities by closer cooperation with the private sector, as well as the implementation of the Youth Wage Subsidy.

At the end of Youth Month, all signed petitions from across Mpumalanga and South Africa sent to our national head office, and presented to the relevant national government ministers.

The DA Youth in Mpumalanga demands a better future for our young people and we will continue in our fight for quality education and access to job opportunities.