Boikanyo Moloto and Thamsanqa Masingi
South Africa is widely commended for its transformative and progressive policies, from the Constitution right down to the policies and frameworks that constitute the fabric of everyday life.
Despite this, South Africa is ranked the most unequal country in the world.
Young black South Africans continue to be subjected to inequality and abject poverty, poor access to services, lack of access to quality education and opportunities, unemployment, and consequentially poor mental healthcare services.
According to Stats SA, South Africa has over 10 million young people aged 15-24 years. For the first quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate was 63,9% for those aged 15-24 and 42,1% for those aged 25-34 years.
The National Youth Policy (NYP) 2020 – 2030, a cross-sectoral framework that centres youth as key role players in their own development and the long-term sustainable development goals of the country, aims to address some of the challenges affecting the youth in South Africa.
The NYP 2020-2030 is made up of five pillars;
1) Economic transformation, entrepreneurship and job creation;
2) Quality education, skills and second chances;
3) Physical and mental health promotion;
4) Social cohesion and nation building; and
5) Effective and responsive youth development machinery.
True to South Africa’s reputation for progressive policies, the NYP acknowledges and addresses most challenges and social ills that impede youth development and encompasses objectives targeted at alleviating these challenges.
The NYP 2030 has already had significant achievements, that is the approval of the Integrated Youth Development Strategy (IYDS) by Cabinet and the approval of its Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. The implementation of the Integrated Youth Development Strategy from a national to a local level is key to ensuring that we achieve the NYP policy outcome.
The monitoring and evaluation of the policy will also determine whether or not the proposed interventions are having the desired outcome during implementation.
Given the huge gap between the policy imperatives and the lived realities of youths, the question should be asked; what is the problem?
Two policy workshops hosted by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), Youth Lab and ACTIVATE!, showed that the majority of the youth are unaware of the NYP and do not know its objectives.
None of the participants in these workshops felt that young people like themselves, had been involved in the development of the policy or could benefit from it.
Unemployment was cited by the workshop participants as the most pressing issue that the state needs to address as it contributes to other issues such as youth violence, crime and mental health challenges.
The disconnect between policy development processes, inclusion of youth and their agency in shaping policy measures, and knowledge of these policies for their effective implementation by affected youth is a glaring problem.
Formulating policies only aimed at the improvement of life is not enough; following up on policy provisions and outcomes through implementation and concrete action is a must.
If the desired outcomes of the NYP are to improve conditions of living, a flourishing economy and a developed youth population that carries the baton in the realisation of Desmond Tutu’s rainbow nation, then the most vulnerable and the most affected youth should be at the centre and receive the benefits of the NYP.
If we are to strive towards a future that our older selves and future generations can be proud of, then we cannot afford to miss it with the implementation of the NYP and other policies aimed at addressing youth issues. The public participation of the youth needs to include all young people from all corners of South Africa.
Moloto is a researcher at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) and Masingi is a policy and capacity building manager at ACTIVATE!
Cape Times