12 June 2002
Hon. Chairperson and Members
The subject under discussion today lays emphasis on a word which is heard repeatedly these days: "sustainable". There may well be various claimants for the prize for having first popularized this apt term. The honour belongs to the Bruntlandt Commission on Environment and Development (1987), if I am not mistaken. The word is very important, indeed it is a lodestar for the times in which we live.
It is a word which seems to enjoy more Internet "hits" than most others in the English language. Its use has become a habit in any discussion about the way forward in human endeavour, and for good reason. It is a mark of the degradation and danger that has befallen our planet that it is necessary to prefix any serious discussion with the word sustainable. This is because the planet is in danger, and any plans that we make need to be sustainable. That means simply: things should be made to last.
And one of the most important efforts we can make is to ensure that the youth of our country and our world are able to develop and reach their full potential as the future unfolds.
In South Africa, our youth endured the brunt of the onslaught of the apartheid state. They, in fact, missed out on much of their youth in consequence, and this Sunday, 16 June, we as a nation will bow our heads and commemorate the thousands who were cut down by police bullets, wounded, jailed, tortured, harassed, whipped, teargassed, driven into exile. The struggle was a necessary and glorious interruption in their daily lives and we witnessed then how, on both sides of the racial and political divide, young people were locked into violent conflict instead of being able to live ordinary lives in peaceful conditions.
The peace has now been won, the abnormal and been made normal, and we sit jointly here in Parliament - former friend and foe - as we approach the end of the first decade of our democracy with a sense of optimism, and living in a stable and progressing South Africa. Particularly because of our country's awful past, and the way it adversely affected the youth, we owe young people now, the post-apartheid generation, a chance to live out their lives to adulthood in a spirit of optimism and fulfillment.
The Government must play its full role in achieving this, though this should be in active partnership with the private and NGO sector, and civil society generally.
The youth themselves have heavy responsibilities. Their conduct and their bearing in public will influence in great measure how adult South Africa responds to their needs. They have to earn their place in the future, as much as the Soweto generation did with such brilliance and discipline -though employing different means. I should like to make an earnest appeal to youth organizations, across the board, to take this point to heart, and to seek always to act with courtesy and respect for the law and peace and order in whatever campaigns they choose to pursue. The armed struggle days have gone. The new struggle, for development and jobs, is on in earnest. It is now incumbent on all our citizens, young and old, and especially those who hold leadership positions, to embrace the new democracy that has been forged, and to seek to strengthen it and show respect for it. In the old struggle, the youth were exemplary in their adherence to discipline and clear-headed goals. Let us bring them honour now by emulating them in the new struggle.
With these serious thoughts, I commend to this honourable House, as appropriate to this debate, a document which will speed our nation towards integrated national youth development initiatives and programmes.
It is entitled the National Youth Development Policy Framework (2002-2007), and it was approved by the Cabinet late last year and has been made available by the National youth Commission. It is one of those documents, an easy read at 20 pages, which warrants careful study by members of this honourable House.
As I stated in the Foreword, one measure of a progressive state is the way it treats its youth. Our democracy is in the forefront of enlightenment in the world, for instance in upholding human and socio-economic rights, in ensuring gender equity almost unequalled in the world, in resolute affirmative action, in adopting generous and tolerant attitudes on important social and moral issues. We must ensure that the way we treat the youth is in line with the levels of enlightenment we have achieved in other respects.
The Government must take a lead. Its departments have, for a number of years, interacted with the National Youth Commission to ensure that youth issues remain central to their activities. The Framework provides an overall view of the national objectives being sought on the youth front. It sets out in some detail a whole range of matters - eg the historical context, the definition of a young person, the rights and responsibilities of youth. It describes in some detail the framework for the advancement of youth development generally - touching on subjects including non-discrimination, the need for sustainability in both rural and urban settings, participation in the new struggle ahead, transparency, young women, youth with disabilities, unemployment, youth at risk. It also outlines strategic interventions and policy guidelines. The latter concern education and training, economic participation and empowerment, justice and safety, social mobilization, capacity building and advocacy. There are separate sections on the institutional environment - government, legislatures, independent institutions and civil society. It is a holistic, compelling account of what needs to be done.
A critical factor, as spelled out under "sustainability" in the Framework, is to ensure that "the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
In these matters, the Government must not only take a lead. It must be tested. The objectives set out in the Framework and other documents must be met, and seen to be met. The public at large must assess critically what has been achieved and what remains to be done. Public and private institutions, notably NGOs, should make their voices known on whether, in their view, we are achieving what we set out to do. Frameworks without actions are empty. This Parliament, and specifically this House, has a critical role to play in monitoring - through committees, plenaries and individual members' effort - whether we are reaching our targets, realizing our benchmarks.
And so, I invite you all to make your input and to be frank and critical, if that is your wish.
I would like also to use this opportunity to salute our youth in this Youth Development Month - ie the month of June. It is a special month, a chance to rally to the Presidential call, in the spirit of volunteerism/Vuk'uZenzele, to Lend a Hand. This call was central to the State of the Nation speech that we listened to with such appreciation and conviction.
As the National Youth Commission co-ordinates a programme of activity that will see young people involved in partnerships with Government in the eradication of poverty through volunteerism in the cause of reconstruction and development.
As the youth rally in the spirit of 1976 to the call: "Letsema: Youth Service for Sustainable Development"
As youth prepare for voluntary work in schools, hospitals, courts, prisons, and in the fight against HIV/Aids, and help to register children eligible for the child support grant
And as Government departments set up centres where young people can offer themselves for voluntary work
As these things happen, we march on with a purpose.
The coming two months offer splendid opportunity and challenge for youth. Next month's inauguration of the African Union and the gathering momentum for the G8 discussions in Canada on the New Partnership for Africa's Development later this month, will involve youth events including a SADC Youth Parliament and seminars. Youth will, moreover, be actively mobilized towards the World Summit on Sustainable Development at the end of August in Johannesburg.
Africa's time has come. Youth's time has come.