Faced with 55.75% youth unemployment, the government has proposed the introduction of a basic universal unemployment grant for SA's unemployed youth.
I don't know how the majority of parents feel about this proposal but I definitely would not want any of my children condemned to a life of a government handouts in the form of that special grant, as it might have the unintended effect of encouraging long-lasting dependence on it.
What criteria would be used to determine who qualifies for it anyway because 55% of unemployed youth is a huge number. How much will they receive a month – R350? It has been hard enough for the government to fulfil its promise of the lockdown grant to all the destitute without jobs. We are a poor country, where will all that money come from? If this was only meant for child-headed families, maybe I would understand.
Every young person has dreams of achieving something special in life. Maybe what the government should be doing is encouraging the youth to explore other avenues in education and training.
Driven by my concern for the gloomy future our youth, I approached an achiever with two master's degrees. For one of these his thesis was on community engagement after realising most of our people go to college only as a last resort.
I know a few people who have made it in life, not only getting their first job soon after completing their studies but some being head-hunted by reputable companies. You just have to make the right choice – the sky is the limit.
Cometh Dube-Makholwa, Midrand
Grants not a solution to joblessness
Faced with 55.75% youth unemployment, the government has proposed the introduction of a basic universal unemployment grant for SA's unemployed youth.
I don't know how the majority of parents feel about this proposal but I definitely would not want any of my children condemned to a life of a government handouts in the form of that special grant, as it might have the unintended effect of encouraging long-lasting dependence on it.
What criteria would be used to determine who qualifies for it anyway because 55% of unemployed youth is a huge number. How much will they receive a month – R350? It has been hard enough for the government to fulfil its promise of the lockdown grant to all the destitute without jobs. We are a poor country, where will all that money come from? If this was only meant for child-headed families, maybe I would understand.
Every young person has dreams of achieving something special in life. Maybe what the government should be doing is encouraging the youth to explore other avenues in education and training.
Driven by my concern for the gloomy future our youth, I approached an achiever with two master's degrees. For one of these his thesis was on community engagement after realising most of our people go to college only as a last resort.
I know a few people who have made it in life, not only getting their first job soon after completing their studies but some being head-hunted by reputable companies. You just have to make the right choice – the sky is the limit.
Cometh Dube-Makholwa, Midrand