Africa-Press – South-Africa. The United Africans Transformation (UAT) party has demanded immediate and concrete action to address the crisis facing South Africa’s youth.
The political party called for a youth jobs guarantee to ensure no young person remains unemployed for more than six months without work, training or public service opportunities. The party also proposed investment in youth-owned businesses, particularly in marginalised areas, alongside the rollout of free, community-based skills centres offering practical training in high-demand fields.
It expressed sorrow and anger about the rising tide of youth unemployment. It said this was a national shame that exposed the growing disconnect between government promises and the realities of ordinary people.
“According to the latest figures released by Stats SA, the country’s unemployment rate has risen to 32.9%, with more than 8.2-million South Africans now out of work.
“Most disturbingly, youth unemployment has climbed to a staggering 46.1%, up from 44.6% in the previous quarter,” the party said.
In real numbers, that meant more than 151,000 more young people were jobless, while 153,000 youth jobs were lost in just three months.
It said while Youth Month was meant to honour the fearless spirit of the 1976 generation, young people today were being left behind, forced to watch their dreams crumble under the weight of unemployment, poverty and political neglect.
“A new generation is trapped in a cycle of waiting: waiting for callbacks, waiting for internships, waiting for jobs that never come.”
It said while the government of national unity (GNU) preached inclusivity and dialogue, it continued to preserve the same exclusionary systems that have failed the youth for decades.
“Instead of urgent, people-driven transformation, the GNU offers only elite pacts and bureaucratic inertia. Their solutions are theoretical; our people’s hunger is real.”
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