Issued by: NorthWest Communication Serditors
Almost 20 years after the youth uprising in Soweto on 16 June 1976, this day continues to occupy a special place in our national conciousness - and in our hearts.
It was a day on which the young people of this country stood up against the oppressive bantu education system, and the system of apardheid itself. They declared to the world that they were prepared to make the personal sacrifices necessary to liberate themselves and their fellow country people.
June 16 has become a symbol of youth struggle, youth sacrifice and youth tackling overwhelming odds to empower themselves and to improve their lives.
Our task here today is to transform that symbol - to harness that symbol - into something practical, something tangible.
On June 16 1995 the youth of this country needs to once more to empower themselves, to take control of their lives and to improve their circumstances.
The activities which we have seen youth engaging in this week have been about doing just that. Youth have been involved in their schools and in their communities in cleaning up campaigns, in repairing and maintenance work, in rebuilding a culture of learning and social responsibility. Youth are taking the lead in rebuilding communities, and by extension, in rebuilding our nation.
June 16 is a time to pay tribute to those youth who have fought relentlessly for this democracy which we have recently achieved. And the best way for us to pay tribute to these heroes - some known, some unknown - is to channel our energies and our skills towards physically building the society which they sacrificed so much for.
It is a time to construct. Those groups who are using this day to serve their own narrow political agenda - who are vilifying the democratic government, saying they have abandoned the youth of this country - these groups are not paying our young heroes the tribute they deserve. These groups are demonstrating their shallowness of their political vision, and their inability to grasp the real needs of youth.
I am not saying that the government is above criticism. Indeed, critical engagement with the government is one of the cornerstones of a democratic society. But if one is serious about developing mechanisms for youth empowerment, one must acknowledge the progress the ANC has made in government in addressing the most pressing needs of youth, as part of the broader South African community.
One needs to acknowledge the positive effects of the presidential lead projects, notable among them the school feeding scheme. One needs to acknowledge progress made in the transformation of the apartheid education system; the establishment of mechanisms to make housing affordable to people who have never before had access to it; the reduction in violence due in a large part to the community policy strategy and the reconstruction of communities torn apart by violence; the encouragement of economic growth through sound political and economic policy. These are just some of the positive developments of which youth are among the primary beneficiaries.
But I agree that this is not sufficient. Youth needs to be given direct access to government, to input into the shaping of government policy, particularly around issues that affect them. Youth also needs to direct government in addressing the particular social, political, educational, economic, cultural and recreational needs of youth.
That is why the draft legislation on a National Youth Commission is so welcome. It lays the basis for such an engagement between youth and government. But it is crucial that the draft legislation is subject to the broadest consultation possible among youth and youth organisations. Even unorganised youth - especially unorganised youth - need to have opportunity to study the proposals, to understand them and to comment on them. One of the outcomes of this process must be to ensure that youth and government are able to establish a long-term relationship, based not on antagonism and mistrust, but based on true cooperation and common objectives.
June 16 1995 needs to be a celebartion of the vitality of youth, of the victories which youth have achieved and the promise which the democratic South Africa holds. While the youth of today might not have to contend with a repressive racist regime, the challenges they face are no less daunting. The level of unemployment among youth; the level of drug abuse and crime; the low level of education and vocational training; and the alarming growth in the levels of young people infected with AIDS, are all concerns which won't be wishes away.
They are issues which youth are going to have to unite across political, religious and social boundaries to tackle. They are going to have to demonstrate the same spirit, determination and sacrifice which characterised the 1976 uprisings in rising to the challenges of the 90s.
These are not the concerns of youth alone. They should be the concerns of society as whole, for it is in our youth that the present and the future of our fledging democracy resides.
The youth of South Africa are by no means lost. For they have within them the seeds of a new, better, caring society. And it is the responsibility of all of us - young, old and in between (like myself) - to nurture those seeds, guarding against the harsh climate, so that they may grow and flourish.