Daily Maverick
Dailymaverick logo

Maverick Citizen

Maverick Citizen, Maverick News

‘Alive, loud and proud’, Youth Day speakers invoke the spirit of '76

‘Alive, loud and proud’, Youth Day speakers invoke the spirit of '76
Youth organisations taking part in the Youth Day Parade for Justice and Change handed over a memorandum of demands to the Presidency at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 16 June 2023. (Photo: Mark Heywood)
Takudzwa Pongweni
By Takudzwa Pongweni
16 Jun 2023
Facebook
1
Hundreds of young South Africans gathered in Pretoria for the annual Youth Day Parade for Justice and Change, saying that as stakeholders in the future of the country, they would no longer be ignored 

Despite the early morning chill, a crowd of young people – from school-age learners to students and young adults – began arriving at the Loftus Park in Pretoria from 9am to participate in the National Youth Coalition’s (NYC) annual Youth Day Parade for Justice and Change. 

Formally endorsed by nearly 100 organisations, including the Zero Dropout Campaign, Defend our Democracy and Amnesty International South Africa, the event provided a platform for young people from a range of backgrounds to demand action on issues such as unemployment, climate injustice, unequal education, gender-based violence and healthcare. 

Hundreds joined the march from Loftus Park to the Union Buildings and handed over a memorandum to the Presidency. 

Young people as catalysts for transformation


Zamajozi Sithole, part of the steering committee, opened the parade at the Union Buildings with a quote from former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan. 

“Any society that does not succeed in tapping into the energy and creativity of its youth will be left behind,” she said. Sithole said that children made up 34% of South Africa’s population, and youth accounted for 37% of the population. 

“Young people make up a huge chunk of the population in this country, yet we do not see ourselves in decision-making spaces,” she said. The story of young people rising up and becoming catalysts for transformation does not have to end with the youth of 1976,” she said. 

Ebrahiem Daniels, from the Equal Education Law Centre and a member of the interim steering committee of NYC, said it was important for the parade to happen.

The annual Youth Day Parade for Justice and Change winds its way through the streets of Pretoria on 16 June 2023. (Photo: Mark Heywood)



“We are here because we must remember the youth of 1976. We are here because we must reflect on our own struggles. We are here because our memorandum of last year remains unanswered,” he said. Daniels added that it was important for the youth to participate and be represented in decision-making spaces

“We are legitimate stakeholders in the governance and development of South Africa. Our generation is filled with dynamic, innovative thinkers who possess the passion, creativity and fresh perspectives needed to shape a brighter future in this country,” he said. 

“We are here because we do not and never will accept being ignored. We are here because we care deeply about the future of this country. We are here because we have not lost sight of the urgency that lies before us,” he said. 

The memorandum handed over this year contained both familiar and new demands, Daniels said. 

“We will not be met with silence once again. We have a plan of action, and in the next few months, we must collectively strategise on how we are going to monitor the implementation of our demands and hold the government accountable,” he said. 

“Until we see change, we will not rest. Until we are heard, we will not rest. Until we are represented, we will not rest. Our voices will echo through the halls of power, and our collective determination to build a society that recognises us as legitimate stakeholders in the future of this country will be heard today,” he said.

Youth for climate justice 

Otsile Nkadimeng, from Fridays for Future South Africa, and Gabriel Klaasen, from the African Climate Alliance, spoke about the climate crisis.

“It’s very important for all of us young people here to think about what climate change means for our future,” Nkadimeng said.

Klaasen said climate justice was not at the forefront of our decision-maker's agenda, yet it should be as it included water sovereignty and food security. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Tired of waiting on the government, youth take climate action into their own hands

Addressing unemployment and gender-based violence


“Unemployment does not care how old or how young you are, but we all know what the statistics say because 65% of the youth are currently unemployed,” said Tebogo Motlana, from the SA Youth Indaba. 

Motlana said it was necessary to call upon the leadership of this country to lead people and stop misleading them. 

“As we speak, we know that each and every year there are young people that complete their matric and come to realise there are no jobs,” he said. 

Education was frequently said to be the key to success, but the goalposts kept changing, he said. “You have the key; they shift the door. You have the key; they change the lock. So, we have to fight because if we are to rest, we will lose the fight,” he said.

Motlana said the annual Youth Day Parade for Justice and  Change was something that should not be let go of. “Now we must rise as young people, and say enough is enough. We are all entitled to a piece of the pie in this democracy and economy,” he said.

Dorothy Mabelebele from the Women in Need Organisation spoke about how more action was needed to address the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) in the country.  

“We saw the stats when it comes to GBV and our president is not doing anything about the issue of GBV,” she said. Mabelebele said that at the last GBV summit, it was proposed there would be a budget to help victims, but so far, this had not been evident. 

“We are not seeing that even in our townships we can’t see what the President and minister of women’s affairs are doing about the issue of GBV,” she said. 

Mabelebele told the crowd that if they or someone they knew were affected by GBV, they should reach out to relevant organisations that could assist them. “There are organisations like Women in Need that offer counselling and can help you open a case,” she said. 

Some of the participants in the Youth Day Parade for Justice and Change in Pretoria on 16 June 2023. (Photo: Thoshstudio)


A dropout crisis


“In South Africa, it’s currently estimated that 40% of learners who start Grade 1 don’t complete matric,” said Kendra Steward, from the Zero Dropout Campaign. Despite the fact that almost a fifth of the national spending went towards education, the average child in South Africa would complete 9.3 years of schooling. “In the poorest schools, this translates to just 5.1 years of actual learning,” she said. 

Steward described this as a “crisis” and explained that the crisis was caused by colluding factors. “To keep kids in school, we need to advocate for safer, resourced, nurturing, engaging and enjoyable spaces where young people can focus on learning and personal development without fear of abuse or corporal punishment,” she said. 

Political will, or more accurately, the lack thereof, had to be blamed for learning barriers and the dropout rate. “Just last month, the MEC for education here in Gauteng revealed that 110,381 fewer learners enrolled in school for 2022 than they did in 2021, with no explanation,” she said. 

“In March, a month before that, over 5,000 learners in KZN went weeks without desperately needed meals due to an unfulfilled tender by a politically connected businessman,” she added. 

Learners,  in collaboration with educators, parents and communities, had a part to play in reducing the dropout rate. 

“The class of 1976 courageously transformed their schools, communities, and the future of this very country – and now it’s your turn,” she said. 

Young people at the forefront of the fight for health justice


Alwande Khumalo, a Global Youth Collective Representative at Amnesty International, said Covid  illustrated that the country faced a healthcare crisis that went beyond the pandemic. “Although no one could foresee the absolute destruction the pandemic brought about, it brought to the fore the deeper systemic challenges of South Africa’s healthcare system,” she said. 

“The system is riddled with a lack of resources, corruption and discrimination, such as health xenophobia, to name a few, proving once again that we are in a health crisis. This is despite health being a right enshrined in our country’s Constitution,” she said. 

Health being a right enshrined in South Africa’s Constitution was the reason why young people had to be at the forefront of the fight for health justice, in order to ensure a brighter and healthy future. “We must promise to stay there until things change. We need to ensure there is dignity, integrity and respect throughout the healthcare system. So today, and every day after this, we call on the government to lead. Our call is not unique but it is urgent and non-negotiable! If nothing changes, nothing will change,” she said. 

Khumalo said the spirit of the youth of 1976 was present today, “alive, loud and proud”.

“We will not keep quiet until our demands are met, until our rights are consistently and authentically respected, we will gather here on these very grounds every year and remind you that we exist and refuse to be ignored,” she said. 

Working towards achieving the nation we want


Bafentse Makete, speaking for the Anglican Youth, Diocese of Pretoria, said those  present grew up hearing the story of June 16 1976 and how education and freedom were fought in literal blood. “But today as the youth we stand here with a rather different story, a story of a divided nation and a divided society,” she said. 

Makete said that all the youth present would join hands to work towards achieving the nation they wanted to live in so freely. “We will not keep quiet until our demands are met, until our rights are consistently and authentically respected, we will gather here on these very grounds every year and remind you that we exist and refuse to be ignored,” she said. 

“We must be willing to leave comfortability if we are to honour our truth, and it will change our country for the better. We all have been called, all of us standing here, to build God’s Kingdom in just and righteous ways, to correct the oppressors, all the socio-economic ills we face. I urge you all to speak your truth even if your voice shakes,” she said. 

Makete concluded with a poem and employed everyone to remember it. 

Turning around the country


Rekgotsofetse Chikane, from Defend our Democracy, said the youth of 2023 were tasked with turning the country around and restoring hope to the country as the youth of 1976 did. The country’s democracy was vested in its youth as they were the largest voting demographic. Chikane encouraged young people to register and vote in the upcoming elections and to organise in their communities to help fix the country. 

South Africa faced numerous crises, including unemployment, energy, water, climate, corruption and poor governance – all of which affected young people directly.

“It is a travesty of justice that school children in 2023 die in pit latrines, that people drink sewage water in Hammanskraal and that young people in universities must choose between going hungry every night or paying their fees,” he said. Chikane said that Defend our Democracy stood in solidarity with young people throughout the country, and joined them in demanding accountability from those who sit inside the Union Buildings. 

Youth Parade to Union Buildings Youth organisations taking part in the Youth Day Parade for Justice and Change handed over a memorandum of demands to the Presidency at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 16 June 2023. (Photo: Mark Heywood)


A list of demands


Among the demands laid out in a memorandum handed to a representative of the Presidency at the Union Buildings, was that the government:

  • Create sustainable and meaningful job and income generation opportunities.

  • Create safe environments for learning and development in our schools.

  • Provide free and quality education and healthcare services.


The memorandum also stated the government had until no later than 16 June 2026 to ensure all demands listed are met. 

Irfaan Mangera, NYC interim chairperson, said the day “went incredibly well”.  

“We have achieved something through NYC that we have not seen in a long time. I take the lesson from Fees Must Fall and from the youth of 1976,” he said. 

“We are the seeds nourished by the blood of Hector Pieterson and that generation, and as such we have a huge responsibility to play in shaping this country differently,” he said. 

“Last year we issued a memorandum and 12 months later they still haven’t responded. So, it is a clear indication that young people are not taken seriously by this government and the administration and so we have to reimagine something new, and this youth coalition is a non-partisan, non-allied one, but it is one that really wants to promote a new change for youth and give them a new platform”. DM 

Categories:

Tags: