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On 16 June 2010 we marked the 34th anniversary of the Soweto and related Uprisings of 1976. This commemoration took place within the context of the first anniversary of the establishment of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).

The advent of democracy in our country heralded a plethora of changes and a myriad of challenges in the area of youth development. While significant changes are conspicuous in the institutional frameworks that have been developed to advance the plight of the youth; the challenges confronting the youth remain pervasive and abound.

These challenges have reached unacceptable proportions, reminiscent of experiences of post-independence Africa which include, but not limited to, high rate of unemployment compounded by skills mismatch; inadequate access to quality education and high drop-out rates; and high prevalence of infectious diseases amongst the youth.

It is the duty and responsibility of the democratic government together with the all the sectors of our society to address these challenges for the sake of the future of generations to come. Thus, we argue like Giroux and Giroux (2004), that "any discourse about the future has to begin with the issue of youth because more than any other group, youth embody the dreams, desires, and commitments of any society's obligations to the future? and offered a measure of its progress".

The establishment of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) should be viewed as a significant step towards realigning youth development institutional framework to address the challenges facing our youth, more effectively and aggressively. But how did we get here? We pose this question to give an account of the metamorphosis of the landscape of youth development and to locate the mandate of the NYDA within the context of youth development trajectory in South Africa.

Towards the establishment of the NYDA

Participation of youth in the struggle for liberation of South Africa is well documented and remains vivid in the collective memory of the South African populace. It is not surprising that there has been a continuation of the mobilisation of youth participation in the democratic order, both in government processes and civil society.

The establishment of the National Youth Commission in 1996 and the formation of South African Youth Council in 1997 were meant to respectively, mainstream youth development within government policy frameworks and to maintain a youth activist led approach to youth development. However, pervasive youth unemployment, low participation of youth in entrepreneurial development and an overall inadequate participation of youth in the mainstream economy, warranted a dedicated approach and mechanism to address these challenges which led to the birth of Umsobomvu Youth Fund in 2001.

Meanwhile, the myriad of challenges for which these institutions, in particular NYC and UYF, were established to address remains stagnant in the face of the youth, due to both external and internal factors that impacted on these institutions.

From an external point of view, these institutions could not have been immune to the broader challenges of South Africa's economy that has, for instance, experienced what some prefer to call "a jobless growth".

Internally, the elusive mandates of the institutions, duplication of programmes, low reach and scale of the programmes initiated by these institutions account to their perceived failure to address the plight of the youth. Thus, the Youth Convention of 2006, attended by youth organizations across socio-political spectrum, mooted the establishment of the National Youth Development Agency.

It was at this convention where an Integrated Youth Development Strategy (IYDS) was adopted, outlining the rationale and some of the objectives of the then proposed NYDA. The IYDS conceptualised the NYDA as an organisation whose mandate is to achieve a seamless integrated and mainstreamed youth development. The NYDA was thus established through an act of parliament (Act 54 of 2008), and its being was formed through the merger of the National Youth Commission and Umsobomvu Youth Fund.

Mandate of the National Youth Development Agency

The NYDA derives its mandate from the legislative frameworks, including the NYDA Act (54 of 2008), the National Youth Policy (2009-2014) and the draft Integrated Youth Development Strategy as adopted by the Youth Convention of 2006. From these documents there is an overarching theme that delineates the role of NYDA as to initiate, implement, facilitate and monitor youth development interventions aimed to reduce youth unemployment and promoting social cohesion. To achieve these goals, the NYDA is also expected to perform, among others, the following responsibilities:
Lobby and advocate for integration and mainstreaming of youth development in all spheres of government, private sector and civil society.
Initiate, implement, facilitate and coordinate youth development programmes.
Monitor and evaluate youth development intervention across the board.
Mobilise youth for active participation in civil society engagements

The establishment of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) as a successor to the National Youth Commission, Umsobomvu Youth Fund and Provincial Youth Commissions must be celebrated as a major milestone in our quest for sustainable youth development interventions.

The National Youth Development Act of 2008 closed a chapter on the National and Provincial Youth Commissions alongside Umsobomvu Youth Fund, and ushered in a new era that builds on the successes of earlier interventions with a more focused and integrated approached underpinned by a new sense of urgency to ensure that South Africa's youth are an integral part of their socio-political an socio-economic advancement.

The most important feature of the Agency will be its ability to integrate all youth development interventions. The institution will exist as a single integrated whole in all spheres of government and will be able to exert influence on the public sector, the private sector and civil society. This will be achieved through the instruments it will have at its disposal to hold institutions in these sectors accountable for their interventions in advancing youth development.

On an annual basis the Agency will determine and publish National Youth Development Priorities which must be implemented by all organs of state, the private sector and civil society organisations concerned with youth development. All these sectors will be required to submit reports to the Agency reporting on how they have implemented these priorities and what progress has been made. These priorities must therefore serve as a yardstick to measure the extent to which the nation is making progress on youth development.

The founding legislation of the NYDA grants it significant regulatory (redyulethari) powers over organs of state, the private sector and civil society in relation to matters that fall within the ambit of its mandate. While the power to formulate policy remains the prerogative of the President, the Agency is mandated to develop guidelines for implentation of such policy and make recommendations in this regard to the President. Similarly, the Agency is mandated to develop and co-ordinate the implementation of the Integrated Youth Development Plan and Strategy for the country which will serve as a guiding instrument in advancing youth development at all levels.

It is perhaps important to reflect on some of the key functional areas the Agency has been seized with. These include:

During the 2009/2010 financial year with its limited resources, the NYDA has worked hard to ensure that our youth are trained to take advantage of today's opportunities and are integrated into the mainstream economy to create opportunities for others.

Numerous young people have been assisted since the NYDA's establishment including:
Disbursing 7,593 loans were disbursed to microfinance enterprises to the value of R23 million.
Disbursing Small and Medium Enterprise loans to the value of R3, 057,354.
Disbursing 4, 224 Business Consultancy Services Vouchers were issued to the value of R33,467,520.00.
Engaging 16,093 under the National Youth Service Programme.
Recruited & trained 18,300 volunteers for the World Cup 2010 event.
Economic Participation.
We have disbursed 10,021 microfinance loans worth R28.8 million and Small and Medium Enterprise loans valued at over R24.6 million.
We have issued 4,220 business consultancy services vouchers worth over R33 million.
We have assisted young entrepreneurs to access business opportunities worth R77.6 million.
A total of 33,008 jobs were created for young people by programmes of the NYDA. These jobs were created through our programmes such as micro and SME financing, National Youth Service, Business Consultancy service, JOBS and Mentorship.
Signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CIPRO and implemented the Buy Youth
Education and Skills development:
A total of 39,813 beneficiaries were enrolled in skills development and community service for the current year financial year.
The National Youth Service programme has enrolled 16,093 young people in a number of projects. Most recently in the 2010/2011 financial year, young volunteers built 76 houses (symbolising the year, 1976) for indigent families in Ivory Park, Gauteng as part of the Youth Month celebrations.
There is a plan to build 34 houses (symbolising 34 years since 1976) in Mpumalaga and refurbish selected schools in all nine provinces during Youth Month.
We are pleased that the Department of Defence and Military Veterans have embraced the expansion of the National Youth Service programme. NYDA commits to working with the Department to design relevant service programmes ensuring that it meets the criteria for NYS and that it provides tangible opportunities for skills development. NYDA also challenges other government departments to commit to expanding service programmes
Information Provision and Communication

A total of 152, 342 (530,390 including UYF statistics) young people were provided with information on products and services through the NYDA branches.

Policy, Lobby and Advocacy: The NYDA has achieved the following to advocate and lobby for mainstreaming and integration of youth services:

We have developed guidelines on the establishment of Youth Directorates in government departments. It is through these youth directorates that youth development will be coordinated and monitored in each department. This is what we want to see replicated at provincial and local level to ensure that there is seamless mainstreaming and integration of Youth Development.

We are in frequent engagements with Youth Stakeholders including youth formations in civil society structures, the private sector and the public sector. We continue to make formal submissions into policy processes initiated by other government departments this being to ensure that youth development is integrated even in policies of government.

We appreciate the country 's step in ratifying the African Youth Charter, subsequently we have printed 20 100 copies , 100 of which is printed in Braille. Of this amount more than 10 000 has been distributed and popularized through various platforms of engagement.

We continue to offer support at local government ensuring that various municipalities establish youth councils and participate in IDP processes. As per the provisions of the Act, we are now in the process of finalizing the Integrated Youth Development Strategy and the guidelines for the implementation of the Youth Policy.

Research, Monitoring and Evaluation:. The NYDA has completed 7 research studies that will inform the planning and implementation of programmes, in addition there were 14 projects and programmes evaluations and baseline studies that have been completed to measure the outcomes and impact of our programmes.

Effective and Efficient Resource Management: A total of 198 (52%) of the 379 staff members have undergone training. The level of customer satisfaction measured from the branch clients survey conducted by the Operations Support Division is 60.9% whilst the level of complaints have decreased by 38%.

Other updates on the NYDA include the following:

On access to the NYDA/institutional arrangements

In his State of the Nation Address President Jacob Zuma called on the NYDA to establish its structures throughout the country. The NYDA is already responding to the call by the President. We have advertised posts in all 9 provinces for the establishment of Provincial Advisory Boards. The provincial advisory boards should be up and running within the next three months.

Again, the NYDA seeks to have Youth Advisory Centres in all the 283 municipalities, to improve its accessibility especially in the utmost rural areas in the country. Thus far, we have launched an office in the Inquza Hill Municipality, in the town of Flagstaff( Eastern Cape).

We will in the next three months establish offices in Welkom, Tzaneen and Richards Bay offering access to NYDA products and services.

The NYDA needs financial resources and buy-in from municipalities, most of which have already demonstrated a keen interest. In return the NYDA will provide technical support toward the implementation and deployment of the organisation's products and services.

We are under to illusion about the daunting challenges that lie ahead and the expectations of our youth. We dare not fail them in ensuring that working together, the ideal of a better life will not remain a pipe dream, but a living reality.

Our mandate is clear: accelerate interventions on youth development and ensure that our youth are both custodians and beneficiaries of our democracy.