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I am today writing to President Zuma on behalf of the DA Youth to request him to reject the list of National Youth Development (NYDA) national board nominees presented to him.

I make this request on the grounds that if the current list of nominees were to be appointed, the NYDA would once again be grossly over politicized and open to the continued political manipulation we witnessed throughout the tenure of the previous board.

Clause 9.4 of the NYDA Act states that members of the board ‘must reflect the demographics and geographical spread of the Republic’. The current nominees are in no way representative of the diversity of the youth of South Africa. Where are the youth in business, the youth in arts, the entrepreneurs and the youth in civil society? Where are the youth who represent the large majority of young people who are not youth politicians?

Out of seven nominees, five have links to the ANC or its tripartite alliance partners, namely:

• Ayanda Bambiso, former leader of the ANCYL-aligned SA Students Congress (Sasco);
• Maropene Lydia Ntuli, ANCYL NEC member;
• Kenny Morolong, North West ANC provincial executive committee member and provincial spokesman;
• Yershen Pillay, Young Communist League Leader and former Deputy Chairperson of the NYDA board; and
• Mothupi Modiba, Sasco leader and Gauteng ANC Youth League member.
• Youth development in South Africa is in crisis. If the NYDA is ever to become effective in dealing with this crisis, the board of the NYDA must be representative of a cross section of young South Africans and cannot be allowed to be dominated by cadres of the ANC and its tripartite alliance allies.

The DA Youth has made the assertion since the inception of the NYDA in 2009 that unless the board is depoliticized, it is doomed to failure. This assertion has been realized through numerous scandals during the previous board’s tenure, including:

• The spending of R106 million of state funds, meant to help young South Africans, on the ANC YL-hosted World Festival of Youth and Students in 2010;
• The endorsement by the NYDA of the ANC YL’s economic freedom marches in October 2011 - an unprecedented demonstration of political bias by a state entity which the Public Protector is currently investigating at the request of the DA Youth;
• The alleged spending of state funds allocated to the NYDA by the Eastern Cape Social Development Department on ANC YL summits, also being investigated by the Public Protector;

Based on all of our assertions above, we call on the President to show definitive leadership and demonstrate his commitment to genuine youth development in South Africa by rejecting the nominees for the NYDA board.