South Africa will need to make serious changes in the structure of the economy to get out of the current decline as a result of Covid-19.

This is a view held by economists Sowetan spoke to on how youth unemployment should be addressed.

National Treasury predicts that 1.7-million jobs will be lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Analysts have therefore called for the government to use the economic crisis to reset the economy and direct it on a growth path with the employment of young people.

Duma Gqubule, an economist at Wits University, said government has to change its ways for jobs to be created.

"For young people, we have to prioritise employment in every institution. For example, the Reserve Bank must target employment. The best present we can give to the young people is to include employment in the mandate of the Reserve Bank and National Treasury," he said.

He said the government needs to put a dignity floor below which no SA young person must fall. "I believe we need a basic income grant of R1,200 a month. This will enable young people to search for jobs, buy data and have food. They will have the tools to begin to participate in this economy. They might participate informally - they can use that money for entrepreneurship.

"We must use this crisis to accelerate the implementation of the National Health Insurance. If you are sick, you should go to any hospital. and not worry about the cost. . The third element is free education from basic to tertiary."

Gqubule said the cry that there is no money cannot be used at this stage.

"People will say where is the money going to come from but the cost of doing nothing is far greater than the cost of implementing what I am saying. The alternative is too ghastly to contemplate," Gqubule said.

He also proposed using PIC funds and strong partnerships with the private sector.

Another economist, Lumkile Mondi, said the pandemic came at a time when the government was trying to reverse all the mismanagement of the Zuma administration.

He said government should use its parastatals to restart the economy and allow for more competition to create jobs for the youth.

Mondi warned against prioritising transformation as government restructures the economy for the new norm.

"A black capitalist cannot be different from a white capitalist - they all want to make money. The idea is to create opportunities for those who don't have access at the moment."