South Africa’s unemployment rate currently stands at 24.9%, with young people being the largest unemployed population group. As President Jacob Zuma prepares to deliver the State of the Nation Address on 14 February 2013, the NYDA looks forward to hearing outcomes on a number of areas highlighted in the President’s 2012 address.
Firstly, the NYDA is looking forward to finding out about jobs that have been created through the infrastructure development drive, particularly among young people. At the end of 2012 the Jobs Fund which is managed by the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) and was set up to spend R9 billion over three years to create 150 000 jobs, made a call for applications from initiatives in enterprise development and infrastructure. “We urge young people to submit sound job creation proposals and hold the view that projects that primarily create jobs for young people, South Africa’s largest unemployed group, should be prioritised,” says NYDA CEO, Steven Ngubeni.
Furthermore, key amongst the President’s pronouncements was the National Development Plan which aims to increase employment from 13 million in 2010 to 24 million in 2030. “Entrepreneurship definitely plays a key role in creating these jobs and alleviating South Africa’s high unemployment rate, therefore, we hope to hear more about a further concerted effort and focus on encouraging a culture of entrepreneurship and creating an enabling environment for aspiring and established entrepreneurs”, Ngubeni says.
The NYDA offers several business support services to young aspiring and established entrepreneurs and has managed to disburse 33 975 loans to the value of R97 293 934.85 in the three financial years since its inception. The Agency has also identified the green economy as a critical space through which it can assist with establishing youth enterprises through funding, business developments services, mentorship, market linkages and also thorough leveraging financial resources from the private sector. The Youth Green Economy Programme proposal has a potential of creating approximately 2600 social enterprises and 320 000 jobs over five years.
However, Ngubeni adds that the NYDA is concerned to hear about Eskom’s proposed 16% price increase annually for the next five years as it will affect many young entrepreneurs and may even lead to job losses. “We urge the President to address concerns about the high electricity hikes because of the negative impact it will have on youth entrepreneurs,” Ngubeni indicates.
Another area of focus is the state of South Africa’s education, regardless of the education challenges that South Africa faces, the NYDA is hopeful that the country can learn from its shortcomings and urges the government and all South Africans to continue putting more focus on improving the quality of education. Last year, the President announced that R300 million has been allocated for preparatory work towards building new universities in Mpumalanga and Northern Cape, the upcoming state of the nation address will be a good opportunity to share progress on these plans since these learning institutions will alleviate the challenge of limited space in tertiary institutions.
Last but not least, despite the fact that the NYDA has to address the needs of 4.7 million young South Africans who are in dire need of meaningful employment, skills and education, its budget was reduced from R386 million in the 2011/2012 financial year to R376-million in the 2012/2013 financial year. The NYDA has presented a strong case backed by compelling evidence to the Standing Committee on Appropriations as to the reasons for a need to capacitate the organisation with over R1 billion per annum. With this investment the NYDA could over a period of five years, provide information and improve awareness to 4.6 million young people, provide training and skills to 745 500 young people and provide training, establish and finance 221 400 enterprises. Based on the benchmarked multiplier effect of each category of development spending, these interventions could help South Africa realise a return on investment of R7.9 billion.
“We will continue to call for an increase in our financial allocation so that we can make a more meaningful impact in the lives of more young people, since inception the NYDA has managed to create 73 920 jobs,” Ngubeni concludes.
SOURCE: National Youth Development Agency (NYDA)
