'Youth must not fight old battles'
"We need to look at what are we mobilising the youth to do"
The youth in South Africa need to stop fighting their leaders’ battles, DA national spokesman Mmusi Maimane said on Thursday.
“We have a new South Africa led by old South Africans with old South African thinking,” Maimane said in Johannesburg.
“We need to look at what are we mobilising the youth to do.”
He said it was concerning when young people stood up and said they would kill for their leaders, and called to make provinces ungovernable.
Former ANCYL leader Julius Malema said in 2008 that he was prepared to “take up arms and kill for [President Jacob] Zuma”.
The league recently said it intended making the Western Cape ungovernable.
Maimane was speaking at a debate, hosted by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, between the Democratic Alliance, the Young Communist League of SA, and the ANC Youth League, about youth participation and mobilisation.
YCLSA national chairman Yershen Pillay said the country’s youth needed bold and radical policy decisions.
“We need less dependence on the State if we are going to drive change.”
This was why the proposed youth wage subsidy would not work.
“It doesn’t adequately respond to... the unemployment we face.”
Pillay said the youth subsidy served the interest of business rather than the youth, and did not consider the education and skills gap.
The YCLSA was proposing a medium-term, and a long-term plan for 2050. This included investment in co-operative development.
“We need to give young people a chance,” said Pillay.
“There needs to be a cultural change, make education fashionable.”
He said the youth needed education and skills development, access to information, and entrepreneurship development.
“You have a melting pot of interventions. A culture of service needs to replace a culture of entitlement,” said Pillay.
The ANCYL’s Vuyo Roji said there were people in South Africa who wanted the economic status quo to stay the same.
“There are enemies,” he said.
On the National Development Plan tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, Roji said the ANCYL did not believe a “political elite” could solve the problems.
“We don’t think academics can sit in a corner and tell us what we need to do.”
The ANCYL’s vision was to have an economy which eliminated poverty.
He said the youth league still believed in nationalising strategic sectors of the economy, expropriation of land without compensation, and free education.
Youth leaders needed to provide leadership.
“They must be able to persuade and be persuaded,” he said.
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Comments
cornelius
"ANCYL'svison is to have an economy which eliminated poverty".That's what everyone inthis country wants you idiots. It is the ANCYL that is standing in the way of this being achieved - opposing htre youth subsidy scheme, and scaring off investors wijht their drunken and vilolent antics all over the country.
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Senyobinyobi
"...and free education."IDIOT, do you mean free poor education, maybe that should only be for the ANCYL because you are all uneducated.
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Truth1st
we as the people need to start using our brains than just been used by politicians for there ediotic fightsReport Abuse
1tsotsi
cornelius"ANCYL'svison is to have an economy which eliminated poverty".
That's what everyone inthis country wants you idiots. It is the ANCYL that is standing in the way of this being achieved - opposing htre youth subsidy scheme, and scaring off investors wijht their drunken and vilolent antics all over the country.
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I knew that you'd single out the ANCYL, guess your obssesion with the ANCYL, has gotten your thinking. You love The YL than your Girlfriend!!!! Thats a fact ANCYL ROCKS!!!!
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Budapat
“We have a new South Africa led by old South Africans with old South African thinking,” Maimane said in Johannesburg. > eish our political youth leaders are all in the dark really, we get told what we already know. hayi shame i give up on political leadership, finish and klaar!!Report Abuse
futurespottechnology
Indeed the youth need to stand and come up with solutions not complaints. we need to show that we are youth and know what we want in life. but most youth don't have direction in life.Report Abuse
Nwanawamukalaha
Him Mmusi Maimane still under that youth category leaves much to be desired considering that he's not talking about black youth's interests. He might be bright but i liken him with Joe Mamasela and Lucas Mangope.Report Abuse
LostGuy
yeah right how cant we not fight old battles while the economy is still in hands of the old regime beneficiaries?Report Abuse
Sinudeity_
1tsotsi - "ANCYL ROCKS!!!!"You mean, ANCYL sucks c*cks.
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Sinudeity_
LostGuy - "yeah right how cant we not fight old battles while the economy is still in hands of the old regime beneficiaries?"How do you expect to take over the economy if you dont have education?
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