Focus on the youth: A plea for responsible citizenship By Nontlantla Skenjana
government to institutionalise racism spurred major youth activism that led to a change in the liberation struggle with the formation of the ANC Youth League
at the fore of these developments. This shift not only threatened the Nationalist party but also the ANC itself as the likes of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu
and OR Tambo entrenched themselves within the Party demanding a change of strategy from silent protests to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe. On the other
hand it is at the very same time that Robert Sobukwe broke away to form the PAC which later had an armed struggle wing called APLA. Like any other violent
liberation struggle, these formations depended on young people being available for training and the guerrilla antics that were later employed to make the
country ungovernable. High schools became grounds for recruiting soldiers for the liberation with some dropping out while some went on exile and continued
their education there.
At the time of the 1976 uprising, young people were already organised under organisations such as NUSAS and SASO which did not only speak on school-related issues but were also engaging in the national liberation struggle with the likes of Steve Biko and Ramphele Mamphele leading the then Black Consciousness Movement. These organisations and other local formations had so much clout that the government could not ignore students when they protested against the curriculum in 1976 but rather responded violently. This wave spurred the United Democratic Front in 1985 which was a federation of all liberation organisations and led to the recruitment of more young people to swell the ranks of the exiled Mkhonto we Sizwe and APLA under the name of militancy and vigilance against the apartheid government and its racist policies.
From this history it is clear, enemies and allies were formed first around the apartheid system which emphasized, race, tribalism and segregation. This is the reason why, as the democratic talks started towards the end of the 1980’s and at the release of political prisoners, violence did not end but rather in some cases intensified. The Inkatha-ANC, AWB and tribal battles kept rearing their heads threatening the possibility of free and fair elections with young people at the forefront of most encounters. It is in this context that Kondlo (Transformer 2010:10) argues that it would be incorrect to only note the positive contribution of the youth while forgetting their betrayal and at times collaboration with oppressors. He thus argues that youth is never homogeneous but heterogeneous in terms of age, culture and political outlook.
Although there was a significant positive shift in political violence especially after 1996, it seems that the change was only transferred, as there was a noted increase in general crime some attributed to the high levels of illegal ammunition that was circulated as a by product of the liberation struggle. Formäs & Bolin (1995:2) argue that if the youth are said to have discretion in terms of them participating in societal change it would be incorrect if they are not held responsible for participating for destructive or questionable purposes. Davie (2011) argues that “A society does not, without effort, gain or retain “personal rights and social and political liberty”. This then means that, if we are to protect our citizenship, all citizens, including the youth, must take responsibility for retaining their rights and freedom while being careful not to infringe upon the rights of others in the process of exercising their own rights.
How far have we gone?
In 1997, the National Youth Policy was passed with the intention of guiding youth development activities with set goals and intervention areas. The question at hand thus becomes, how did we get here, how has the South African Youth been shaped by the democratic dispensation, how have the youth influenced the turn of events and even more importantly what are the implications of these in a developing country like ours? How the youth faired can be judged using these goals:
a) Instil in all young women and men an awareness of, respect for and active commitment to the principles and values enshrined in the Bill of Rights and a clear sense of national identity.
As the country prepared for the adoption of the Constitution, various platforms were created for building awareness, making inputs into the constitution recorded as one of the best participatory processes that government engaged in. There were changes that were instituted in school curricula to include knowledge of the South African Constitution and an un-biased history of the country. However, at various levels of engagement, there have been questions around the apathetic attitude from the youth in political processes. Some have defended the youth saying that they are disillusioned, there is a lack of political knowledge and there are limited choices for political participation (IEC: 2008). In the same dialogue of the IEC, there was also an argument that some of the issues related to the perceptions of the accountability of political parties and the delivery of services and promises made during the electioneering period. However, the argument presented emphasizes that freedom cannot maintain itself. The arguments raised by this dialogue either see the youth as a problem or a victim of situations which disempowers them and keeps them from taking responsibility for their own freedom. Here we submit that it is the responsibility of the youth to protect the Constitution and all its provisions.
b) Recognise and promote the participation and contribution of young women and men in the reconstruction and development of South Africa.
The Reconstruction and Development Framework that was adopted by government as a programme of action highlighted access to basic services, development of human resources, building the economy and democratising the state. The hardest hit areas in terms of development in 1994 were generally the homelands and urban areas that were set aside for black people and particularly rural areas. There has been significant delivery of infrastructure both in rural and urban areas. However, due to high levels of inequality that existed, although there has been progress in delivery, old infrastructure has dilapidated thus reversing some of the strides that had been made. Another reality is that in 1994, there were already high backlogs in service delivery with housing backlogs being over 2million (RSA: 1997) and government has the responsibility of clearing those backlogs while also accommodating other emerging needs from an increasing population. After the attainment of democracy, civil society activism including organisations and communities was on the decline while people’s expectations from government increased. This did not support the efforts to realise RDP goals as they depend on a strong working relationship between government, private sector and civil society.
There have been many cases in the recent past where the youth have been at the forefront in the destruction of state property during service delivery protests, wage strikes, student and politically-driven protests. Interestingly in these instances, the youth would be regarded as militant and vigilant in protecting their interests while broadly speaking their vigilance is hardly seen elsewhere. Some argue (Kondlo: 2010) that if the youth are seen only through the representation of the Young Communist League and the ANC Youth League during controversial programmes such as the nationalisation of mines, it would do injustice in laying the foundations of our democracy for future generations. However, there has not been any other consistent and visible youth representative organisation/formation outside these two although a number of youth participate in sport and voluntary community services.
c) Enable young men and women to initiate actions which promote their own development and that of their communities and broader society.
There have been a number of programmes that have been introduced to push the agenda of youth development such as the National Youth Service, Vuk’uzenzele and Umsobomvu business development programmes amongst others. These have mainly been driven through the National and provincial Youth Commissions and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund. These two institutions are have been merged to form the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). Many have questioned whether this change will have a positive impact on key youth concerns such as job creation, skills development and unemployment as envisaged. Amongst the challenges that were highlighted in merging the two institutions were (Submissions on the NYDA Bill):
- Limitations and a need to clarify the mandate and accountability of the two institutions
- Poor targeting, programme choices and resource allocation - Duplication of tasks and poor coordination
- Misalignment between government programme of action and the institutions’ priorities
- Extent of youth unemployment
There are also questions on how much the youth was engaged in the process of establishing the NYDA, that is, how much consultation was done and whether the space given for participation is sufficient (Mbi:2011).
However, there have been some positives in youth development especially in terms of uMsobomvu Youth Fund, which opened doors for young entrepreneurs who might not have been able to access funding elsewhere, the National Youth Service programme and Youth Information Service Centres. However, these have not been able to sustainably impact the unemployment levels among the youth which have been growing along with the levels of poverty and inequality although there has been a decline in poverty levels in recent years.
d) Develop an effective, coordinated and holistic response to the issues facing young men and women.
A number of approaches have been attempted to realise this goal including the establishment of the then National Youth Commission and the current NYDA. There has also been a strategic shift with the introduction of the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities. However, little change has been experienced in the challenges facing young people such as unemployment, crime, HIV/Aids and poverty. Despite various interventions like the enterprise development initiatives, Expanded Public Works Programmes, Sector Education Training Authorities and better access to education through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, the unemployment levels still remain above 20% at both the broad and narrow definitions (Global Poverty Research Group: 2005) and close to half of the population is living below the poverty line (RSA: 2011). However, some researchers argue that South Africa is a wage economy and thus focus should be in developing skills and creating work opportunities with initiatives such as the Community Works Programme to assist in building the required experience (PLAAS: 2010).
However, the private sector needs to play its part in employing those that are employable. One of the challenges faced by the enterprise development fraternity is the fact that entities that are established have a short life span and thus have not been sustainable in the main. Were these to be sustainable they would assist in bridging the poverty, unemployment and skills development gap as desired. The advancing technologies also keep new entities on their toes making it hard to break the barriers to entry for new entities.
HIV/Aids infections amongst the youth are the highest despite the many interventions by the state which include access to prevention facilities, access to anti-retroviral treatment, promotion of Voluntary testing and Counselling and explicit media awareness campaigns. Interestingly though, the highest age category in statistics from 2009 (Department of Health) was the ages 30-34 followed by 25-29 at 41% and 37% respectively. The likelihood is that these have become sexually active in the past decade and a half creating the likelihood that, their infection was affected by lack of awareness as the country was still dabbling with the virus 15 years ago. It is hoped that with the current programmes and interventions, the relatively low rate of infection at the ages 15-19 at 13% will decrease in future infection levels.
e) Create enabling environments and communities which are supportive of young women and men, presenting positive role models whilst promoting social justice and national pride.
The levels of crime in our communities are reminiscent of our past. In the RDP Document of 1994 point 1.2.5 states “We are close to creating a culture of violence in which no person can feel any sense of security in their person and property. The spectre of poverty and/or violence haunts millions of our people (ANC: 1994)”. This placed crime as a key challenge for the democratic government. This has been increased by the daunting increase in fraud and corruption in the private and public sectors. Safety is one the fundamental human rights and threatens all the other rights that people are entitled to. However, as the levels of crime have continued to increase over time there has been less community vigilance against it. Some researchers argue that poverty and inequality breed criminal activity while others argue otherwise (Mao: unknown).
Youth Development In South Africa
In South Africa, the youth is defined as those between the ages of 14 to 35. According to the National Youth Commission reports, the youth constitute 40% of the country’s population (Kondlo, 2007). The Eastern Cape Youth Commission claims that 14% of this 40% are in Eastern Cape (Provincial Youth Development Plan 2004-2014) while the Province also records high levels of poverty and inequality with the youth being the hardest hit. If this is the case, the effectiveness of government interventions should be seen in the progression of young people.
The importance of youth development in South Africa need not be underscored. Potgieter (HSRC: 2007) argues that youth is a learning stage crucial for the development of “life and livelihood skills, accessing new information and knowledge, and experimenting with cultural, artistic, and physical expression with peers”. The Reconstruction and Development Programme (1994:74) that was adopted as an action plan of government states that “appropriate government departments must more forcefully represent youth interests…” This document identifies the areas that youth can participate in as education and training, job creation and full participation in society and their future. This was the mandate given to the National Youth Commission when it was established which then
identified the intervention areas, especially at local government level, as Local Economic Development, Social Development, Health and Community Development.
The South African Local Government Association (2007) argues that youth are not always dependent on government intervention but rather on community support as a key driver for their development. However, the National Youth Policy states that the youth development programme should be integrated to all national programmes. The National Research Council in America (2002: 29) found that the youth from high risk and disadvantaged areas were more in need of support.
CONCLUSION
Young people who witnessed the advent of democracy in 1994 at the age of 14 are now at the end of the legal spectrum of youth at the age of 35. It is within these stages of growth that Erikson argues (1950) that humans have an identity crisis. It is also the stage where fidelity is developed; Erikson argues that it is at this stage that one learns ‘the ability to sustain loyalties freely pledged in spite of the inevitable contradictions and confusions of value systems’. This agrees with the notion of the youth being able to make decisions and also standing by them and taking responsibility for their choices. This means then, that the youth can be influenced by their environments and experiences to stand with or against positions. However, they can also influence the turn of events by the choices they make today. My interest in writing this article was raised by a billboard that read - the heroes of my youth are either dead or locked up - where is the glamour in that?” In looking into this topic, I came past a statement that was made by Yockey (1939) which also raises similar concerns on the socialisation of the youth in a paper titled “The Tragedy of Youth”. Although I may not agree with his allegations in the main but the following statement caught my attention:
“Appalling numbers of youth have been led into a cynical ultra-sophisticated attitude which regards drinking as a badge of social aptitude, which makes a fetish of sport and professes eroticism as a way of life. A perverted and insane pictorial art, lewd exhibitionistic dancing and jungle music form the spiritual norm of this sector of America’s youth...”
The National Youth Policy remains one of the key guiding documents in youth development in South Africa and perhaps it is a good reference to measure whether we have been able to achieve youth development. There are, however, concerns over whether the establishment of the National Youth Development Agency will create better prospects for the young democracy. There also needs to be a more visible vigilance in the youth beyond political activism but also in engaging with socio-economic development solutions not just to question but to act responsibly, not just as a problem or a victim but as change-agents of our society. At the end of the day they are the custodians of the future and there is glamour in that.
References: ANC. 1994. The Reconstruction and Development Programme. ANC, Johannesburg | Davie E. Erosion of individual liberty. Free Market Foundation.
Accessed on 04 April 2011 from www.sangonet.org.za/conf2010/article/erosionindividual-liberty | Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. Accessed on 6 April 2011 from: www.wikipedia.org | Fornas J & Bolin G. 1995. Youth culture in late modernity. Sage | Global Poverty Research Group . 2005 Unemployment, raceand poverty in South Africa . Accessed from: http://www.gprg.org/themes/t2-inc-ineq-poor/unem/unem-pov.htm in April 2011 | ISS. Crime statistics. Accessed from: www.iss.org.za/CJM/statgraphs/index.htm in April 2011 | Kondlo K. 2010. The role of Youth in a participatory democracy. The Transformer – December 2010/January 2011. | Mbi A. 2008. The politics of the National Development Agency Bill. Accessed on 9 February 2011 from www.amandlapublishers.co.za/specialfeatures/62-international-youth-day-/362-the-politics-of-the-national-youth-development-agency-bill | Plaas. Overcoming Structural Poverty and Inequality Conference. September 2010. Accessed on 4 April 2011 from: www.plaas.org.za/newsevents/povcon2010 | RSA. 2011. South Africa HIV & AIDS Statistics http://www.avert.org/safricastats.htm