Youth unemployment: Why are constructive solutions being silenced?

During October, one block away from the same Luthuli House journalists regularly flock to in their numbers to report on the latest threats to our constitutional democracy, the DA Youth launched the second of a series of national campaigns to look at realistic and constructive ways we can address the youth unemployment crisis.

The first campaign, late in 2010, lobbied for a youth wage subsidy. During the campaign we handed a petition from thousands of young people to the Speaker of Parliament, along with a document setting out the merits of a wage subsidy. The second campaign turned the focus to entrepreneurship, and set out some unique ways in which the government could encourage youth entrepreneurship as a way to bring young people actively into the economy. Included in this was a proposal for a youth entrepreneurship collateral fund, which would see government standing surety for young entrepreneurs who qualify, based on the merit of submitted business plans, to access commercial/private sector credit, as well as a proposal for tax breaks for experienced business owners who enter a mentoring programme with young entrepreneurs.

These ideas, along with many others, were sent to the Minister of Trade and Industry for his review, and were marked by the launch of a national business plan competition, which will see the DA Youth give away R10 000 start up capital to the creator of the best business plan. The competition has been well received by young South Africans, and in just a few short days, inspiring and innovative business plans began flooding in.

One journalist attended the launch of this campaign. There was no trace of it in the media the next day.

Dialogue about the unemployment crisis facing young South Africans has been intensifying over recent weeks. The media is filled with opinion pieces on a daily basis that recount just how dire the situation is. Almost all quarters are in rare agreement that we have reached crisis point and that serious intervention is the order of the day.

Distinctly lacking, however, has been any kind of constructive dialogue about how to actually deliver on the jobs we say we need. A march to simply demand them definitely won’t do the trick.

“Where is the alternative? Why do demagogues like Malema get so much attention? Can’t we have a positive story for a change?” readers’ letters lament.

The average person would think that there is simply no alternative out there.The reality is that there are many voices attempting to add constructively to the debate about the youth unemployment crisis, however they don’t seem to get as much space in the public discourse as other, more sensational views.

I must make it clear that this is not simply the ranting of a scorned bunch of youth. It would be very easy for us to mobilize through the politics of fear and race, as our counterparts do. A colleague and I joked shortly after our poorly attended campaign launch that perhaps if we burnt down the Premier’s office a few floors below us, we would attain some airtime for our ideas. However, instead of opting for the instant gratification that comes with militancy, insults and threats of violence, the DA Youth has chosen to mobilize young South Africans on the politics of hope. Rather than complaining and making demands on government, we have chosen to take responsibility for our own development and come to the table with practical solutions to the problems we face. Our national entrepreneurship and wage subsidy campaigns aim to offer realistic solutions to the problem of youth unemployment in particular.

We are aware that our choice, the choice to remain positive and mobilize with hope, is a long and hard road. It does not make for sensational headlines or come with the instant gratification many young people have come to expect. Despite this, we will continue to forge ahead with our solutions-based programme of action and demonstrate to South Africa’s youth that, with commitment and hard work, their problems can be solved.

Regards,

Makashule Gana
DA Youth Federal leader