The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The ANCYL welcomes the State of the Nation address by the President of the Republic of South Africa, towards a Government that works faster,harder and smarter and the Budget Speech delivered by Minister Pravin Gordhan. This is a reflection of the collective committment of Cabinet to the people of South Africa led by the African National Congress.

The ANCYL sees this as a collective effort of the Cabinet of the Government led by the ANC. The ANCYL recognises with pride that our Government lead by the ANC will lead our people.

The ANCYL notes with confidence the strides that the ANC has made in delivering services and implementing programmes towards the uplifting of the lives of the people of South Africa.

The ANCYL notes the emphasis placed by the collective on the need for the reduction of joblessness amongst young people. The ANCYL welcomes the focus on the urgent policy changes to include interventions for job creation for young people in consideration of the abnormally high unemployment rates. This includes the subsidisation of costs for hiring young workers to encourage firms to absorb inexperienced young employees.

The ANCYL welcomes the initiatives of the Department of Labour under the leadership of the Department of Labour to help improve services to young people that will assist them in accessing jobs and training oppurtunities. Subsidies will lower the cost of employers having to hire inexperienced young people through a cash reimbursement.

The ANCYL also welcomes the extension of child support grants to include young people between the ages of 15-18 years as relief for the challenges of poverty of youth in South Africa.

We are encouraged by the emphasis placed on the NYDA to deliver on fasttracking the mainstreaming of youth development programmes for young people, however we are concerned by the inconsistency of the expectations placed on the National Youth Development Agency without the requested R1 Billion budget. The task of holistic youth development requires that maximum resources be put in.

The ANCYL welcomes the the collective effort of Government towards the education especially with the rollout of workbooks in all 11 official languages and the focus FET colleges.The ANCYL applauds the focus on numeracy and literacy and especially the focus on the 60% increase in the pass rate by 2014.

We are elated by the call for second chances for those who cannot gain entry into university and the absorption of eligible students to obtain financial assistance through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

The President is commended for his observation that young people must enter learnerships in the private and public sectors.

The ANCYL welcomes the commitment by the Government led by the ANC on an improved impetus and funding on Health especially HIV and AIDS and TB related diseases. We are overwhelmed by the Governments committment to Health, Education and further the stance against the abuse of alcohol.

The ANCYL urges young people to be committed in their sexual practices to reducing the rates of HIV and AIDS and welcome the President's committment to the implementation of new HIV prevention and treatment measures.

We call upon young people to be vigilant of the challenges of climate change and contribute positively to a healthy environment.