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With the term of the previous National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) board having come to an end in May this year, the end of November marks six months that the NYDA has been without a national board. With youth unemployment continuing to spiral out of control, it is simply unthinkable that billions of rands meant for youth development are being pumped into an agency that has not only demonstrated that it is unable to deliver on its mandate, but has now remained board-less for over half a year.

A letter sent by the DA Youth to the President in August imploring him to reject the proposed ANC-aligned board candidates and appoint a politically neutral board remain unanswered. The NYDA remains without a board and the youth slip deeper into crisis as each day passes.

Is this yet another decision that the President is putting on hold to protect his political career until after Mangaung? There can be no other compelling reason as to why the NYDA would be left without a national board for so long. We saw it with the Youth Wage Subsidy, on which the President is allowing a deadlock to persist while kowtowing to Cosatu, and now we see it with the NYDA. Zuma is quite happy to let South Africa’s youth burn to protect his own political career. The President’s actions may save him in December, but come 2014 Zuma’s complete disregard for the youth of South Africa will not be forgotten.