Speaking notes of MEC for Public Works and Roads, Gaoage Oageng Molapisi at the occasion of the Departmental Youth Month celebration held at Baunquet Hall, Potchefstroom ...

          Programme Director, Mr K Gill
          Executive Mayor of JB Marks, Cllr Gaba Ka Qhele
          MMC Special Programmes - Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality, Cllr Mpho Matsapola
          Members of the Mayoral Committee – JB Marks Local Municipality
          Head of the Department (HOD), Mr Moss Kgantsi
          Department of Public Works and Roads Senior Management Team and Other Officials
          Distinguished Guests
          Members of the Media
          Participants of the National Youth Service Programme (NYSP)
          Ladies and Gentleman

We gather this morning as scores of young people prepare to commemorate 47th anniversary of the June 16 Soweto and other related uprisings. Youth Day 2023 will be celebrated under the theme “Accelerating Youth Economic Participation for a Sustainable Future”. To many of us Youth Month represents a period in our liberation history that heralded a new era, as South Africa’s youth heeded to the call by Moses Kotane who declared in 1968 that “At this hour of destiny, your country and your people need you. The future of South Africa is in your hands and it will be what you make of it”.

It is with a great sense of honour and privilege to be here today, on a month that we honour those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom and democracy that each and every one of us enjoys today. I am delighted because we are not gathered only so as to remember the historic significance of this day, and bravery of those who came before us; but also to appreciate and showcase governments interventions and commitment to youth development.

In line with the theme as mentioned earlier, as the Department we cannot over-emphasize the role of entrepreneurship in fighting the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. Thus our provincial weekly plan focuses on capacity building, entrepreneurship and business skills development. We are grateful to all our stakeholders for agreeing to collaborate with us in this endeavour to turn the lives of our youth for the better. Most importantly we appreciate the work of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). Their interventions speak volume across all our programmes.

Programme Director, as part of our programme to ensure that no one is left behind as we pursue our agenda for socio-economic emancipation. We have made the following commitments during the Departments’ Budget Speech for the 2023/2024 financial year under Programme 4: Community Based Programme:

      1. We will ensure better coordination of Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) activities with regard to fair and           transparent recruitment processes of new beneficiaries, as outlined by the EPWP Recruitment Guidelines. The new           intake of 15 000 participants will be recruited from August 2023. As we usher in the new EPWP Phase V (five) that           will begin in the 2024/2025 financial year, the Department is preparing to host the Provincial Summit on EPWP from           the 22nd and 23rd  of June 2023.

      2. The Contractor Development Programme (CDP) comprising of 160 participants will be implemented in the third           quarter.

      3. Brick-making plants will also be resuscitated as important sites for job creation and assisting our efforts for           delivering quality roads and building infrastructure projects.

The National Youth Service (NYS) Programme aims at engaging South African youth in community service activities to strengthen service delivery, build patriotism, promote nation-building, foster social cohesion and to assist to acquire occupational skills necessary to access sustainable livelihood opportunities.

South Africa’s unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2023 was recorded at 32,9 %, and is among the highest in the world. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), this is an increase of 0,2 of a percentage point compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.To this end, the North West Province sits top of the ladder having recorded 54% expanded unemployment rate in Quarter 1 of 2023, with the majority of young people outside work. It is therefore my contention that we need to prioritise young people in work opportunities and ensure that both private and public sector play their role in this regard.

During the 2023 State of the Province Address (SOPA), Premier Maape maintained that “Youth, women and persons with disabilities are the primary beneficiaries of available work opportunities through public infrastructure. This recruitment will reach the milestone of creating 200 000 job opportunities over the next five years”. Honourable Premier further committed that “government of the North West has also agreed to scrap the barrier for all entry level posts across the public services and municipalities from 1 April 2023”. The Department of Public Works and Roads will implement this directive without fail.

It is in line with these pronouncements and a commitment that the programme we are gathered here to celebrate; the National Youth Service (NYS) Programme, has nine hundred and seventy-one beneficiaries (971).  The participants are spread across the province with Dr Kenneth Kaunda District at three hundred and fifty-one (351) participants, Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati at three hundred and three (303), Ngaka Modiri Molema at one hundred and seventy-nine (179) and the Bojanala District at one hundred and thirty-eight (138) participants.

Ladies and Gentlemen, of these participants, young people constitute a whopping eight hundred and twenty-six (826), that translates to 85 percent, and a total of five hundred and sixty-eight (568) women, that is 59 percent. I have also noted that there is poor intake of people living with disabilities on the programme. Thus I have asked the Directorate for Special Programme to look closely on all our programmes across board, give feedback and suggestions on how we can make such programmes inclusive.

Yesterday I had the pleasure to participate during road maintenance project at Kruis Street, wherein participants of the programme demonstrated their skills as it relates to pothole patching and road marking. The street is located in the drive way to the Potchefstroom Hospital which continues to provide the necessary health care services to our people. I am glad that we have ensured that we improve the condition of the road. We did this under supervision of qualified engineers to monitor the quality of the work done. One must say that we need to find a lasting solution to the state of our road infrastructure. I am proud and elated to see the work we have done jointly with the JB Marks Local Municipality.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen; I must hasten to say that our National Youth Service (NYS) Programme participants undergone the necessary skills and will receive certificates as evidence to the expertise they have acquired during the programme. These young men and women have received extensive training on the following:

-     Pothole patching
-     Road marking
-     Road furniture repair including guard rails
-     First-Aid, and
-     Plant operations including road earthworks machinery

I must hasten to mention the participants will be receiving certificates in line with the trades they were trained for before the programme ends August this year. I also directed that as a Department, we must offer them a token of appreciation for their participation in the programme. All of the participants will receive this token in addition to the certificates they will receive when they exit.

Programme Director, I will not give all participants these certificates, for I am mindful of the time allocated for the celebration. The following participants and beneficiaries may come to the front to receive this token of approbation for having contributed to the success of the programme:

On behalf of the Department of Public Works and Roads I thank you all for taking part in this programme.

As I conclude Programme Director, I must reiterate the words of the late General Secretary of the United Nations (UN) Kofi Annan when he said that “youth must be passionate and zealous about leadership, entrepreneurship and volunteerism, and build an impeccable career or professional future for themselves and society”. I am convinced than ever that this cohort of NYSP participants is destined for greater heights.

Wishing you all a Happy Youth Day.

I thank you.

 

 Ends

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