Ramaphosa to ‘intervene’ on youth unemployment if reelected
Speaking to the ANC Youth League ahead of anniversary celebrations, President Ramaphosa promised to ‘intervene’ on SA youth unemployment.
The ANC celebrates its 112th anniversary this weekend, and President Cyril Ramaphosa broached the subject of SA youth unemployment during an engagement with the ANC Youth League (ANCYL).
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Following the President saying SASSA grants may go away if the ANC is not reelected in 2024, he’s now spoken up about the scourge of SA youth unemployment. This took place at an engagement with ANCYL members – among them many unemployed graduates – in Mbombela this week, reports IOL.
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SA YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT
Jobless graduates in South Africa are getting ever-more vocal about the lack of job opportunities in the country. Many economists are calling it a crisis now. According to Stats SA, youth unemployment between the ages 18-24 years and 25-34 years of age is the highest ever – 60,7% and 39,8% respectively.
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Responding to the issue, President Ramaphosa said the government and private sector must intervene. “We are committed to addressing this challenge where we have educated young people and they’ve become graduates. We should come up with interventions that says no graduate must go unemployed,” he said. He failed to delineate what those interventions might be exactly.
ANCYL SUPPORT
Despite this, Ramaphosa said the ANCYL must fully support the party’s intervention programme. And he encouraged members of the youth league to go to school, get educated, and continue ‘the fight to defend the ANC’. Ramaphosa was concerned about the country’s drop-out rate, saying one million students register for schools and 12-years later only half of them write matric.
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To conclude proceedings, Collen Malatji, ANCYL president urged Ramaphosa to expel government officials who failed to deliver new jobs to the country.
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