(The following debate was delivered in the KZN Legislature today as part of the DA Party Motion Debate)
Youth Month reminds us of the courage of the 1976 generation who demanded freedom. Today, our youth are demanding opportunity, jobs, dignity and a fair chance at a better life.
The urgency is clear. According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey, KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) youth unemployment increased from 44.6% in the last quarter of 2024 to 46.1% in the first quarter of this year. This means thousands more young people shut out of opportunity.
KZN’s Office of the Premier (OTP) is at the centre of addressing this challenge. It’s KZN Youth Fund, in collaboration with KZN’s Department of Economic Development Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA), is one of the province’s flagship responses.
However, the real questions are;
• What outcomes are being achieved?
• How many youth-owned businesses have received funding?
• How many of those businesses are still operating after two or three years?
• How many sustainable jobs have been created and;
• Crucially – how is government measuring the impact made?
The message is clear: Government cannot continue to do the same thing and expect different results. Programmes must be judged, not by how much is spent or how many projects are launched, but by measurable, sustainable, long-term changes they deliver. In this regard, KZN’s OTP must take the lead in ensuring that all youth initiatives – whether through EDTEA, Education, Agriculture or Public Works – are properly coordinated, monitored, and evaluated. Transparent reporting must become the standard.
It must, however, be recognised that government cannot create every job. Instead, its role is to provide an environment in which employment and investment can grow. That means working infrastructure, safety and security that attracts investment, reliable electricity and water to keep industries running and a capable, responsive public service that reduces red tape and speeds up approvals.
This is exactly what the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) Plan to Turbocharge the Economy advocates. We believe that jobs are created by;
• Cutting red tape and unlocking investment for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
• Investing in infrastructure, rail, ports, energy and digital networks that support growth and connect people to markets
• Expanding learnerships, apprenticeships and demand-driven training, so that young people are trained for jobs that actually exist
• Supporting small/medium businesses through access to finance, mentorship and opportunities to grow into sustainable enterprises and;
• Building partnerships between government, the private sector and civil society to create new pathways into employment and self-employment.
These are not abstract ideas. They are practical steps that can be tied into work already being done in KZN, through the Premier’s Office and beyond.
The DA acknowledges Premier, Thami Ntuli’s leadership in driving youth empowerment through the Youth Fund and related programmes. As a partner within KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), the DA stands ready to work, to sharpen these tools, ensure accountability and build the enabling environment that will allow our young people to thrive. KZN’s GPU must ensure that every rand spent and every initiative launched delivers measurable, sustainable and life-changing results for the youth of our province.