{"id":95621,"date":"2026-02-10T16:22:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T16:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mantashes-youth-unemployment-remarks-spark-backlash"},"modified":"2026-02-10T16:33:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T16:33:57","slug":"mantashes-youth-unemployment-remarks-spark-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mantashes-youth-unemployment-remarks-spark-backlash","title":{"rendered":"Mantashe’s Youth Unemployment Remarks Spark Backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Gwede Mantashe\u2019s comments that young people expect too much from the government have ignited debate, with a political analyst arguing South Africa\u2019s leadership is out of touch with harsh economic realities.<\/p>\n

Political analyst Hlumelo Xaba says Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe\u2019s recent remarks about youth unemployment reflect a political leadership \u2018alienated to the harsh reality\u2019 facing South Africans.<\/p>\n

Mantashe recently suggested that young people expect the government to \u2018catch the fish for them\u2019 instead of seeking opportunities themselves. He also reportedly said that because South Africa has a progressive government, some people expect it to provide jobs rather than actively look for them.<\/p>\n

His comments have drawn criticism from various quarters, including ANC Youth League president Collen Malatji.<\/p>\n

\u2018Unscientific\u2019 view of unemployment crisis<\/p>\n

Speaking on 702\/CapeTalk, Xaba described the minister\u2019s assertions as \u2018unfounded and unscientific speculation\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot say that there are jobs for young people in an economy that is, in my view, in a permanent recession,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Xaba pointed to South Africa\u2019s sluggish economic growth, which has struggled to exceed 1% in recent years, and an official unemployment rate of about 31.9%.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stats are there for us to all see that the country currently has an unemployment rate of about 31.9%, which is probably one of the highest we\u2019ve had,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He argued that the core issue was whether the state had the capacity to create sustainable employment opportunities, particularly for graduates and young job seekers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are a government that embraces a developmental state model, you should be at the centre of development, meaning that you need to have the capacity to create jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skills, competition and foreign nationals<\/p>\n

The debate also touched on claims that foreign nationals are taking up opportunities that South Africans are not.<\/p>\n

Xaba said migration trends were not unique to South Africa, arguing that people generally move to more developed economies in search of opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn any region around the world, the most developed country tends to attract people from neighbouring countries,\u201d he said, citing migration patterns in the Americas and within the SADC region.<\/p>\n

However, he acknowledged growing tensions over competition for jobs and business opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe competition becomes so tight that locals now find themselves closed out,\u201d Xaba said, adding that while skills may exist locally, many South Africans lack the means to compete effectively.<\/p>\n

He noted that technical and vocational training pathways, such as TVET colleges, should play a bigger role in expanding artisanal skills in the economy, which he believes have been neglected as the country shifted toward a service-driven model.<\/p>\n

Is government support sufficient?<\/p>\n

While acknowledging the existence of agencies like the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and sector education and training authorities (SETAS), Xaba questioned their effectiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are various agencies that are supposed to aid entrepreneurs. However, the government is not efficient enough to ensure that these SETAS play a central role in the development of our country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Drawing a parallel with land reform, he argued that beneficiaries often receive assets without adequate post-allocation support.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the people who got that land weren\u2019t able to make it productive because the government did not intervene to ensure that they were supported and given the necessary instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Xaba, the controversy around Mantashe\u2019s remarks ultimately underscores a broader crisis of trust between citizens and political leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think such utterances corroborate the sentiment that we have a group of political elites that are very alienated to the reality that South Africans face daily,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Gwede Mantashe\u2019s comments that young people expect too much from the government have ignited debate, with a political analyst arguing South Africa\u2019s leadership is out of touch with harsh economic realities. Political analyst Hlumelo Xaba says Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe\u2019s recent remarks about youth unemployment reflect a political leadership […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":95620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-95621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nMantashe's Youth Unemployment Remarks Spark Backlash - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gwede Mantashe\u2019s comments that young people expect too much from the government have ignited debate, with a political an ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mantashes-youth-unemployment-remarks-spark-backlash\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mantashe's Youth Unemployment Remarks Spark Backlash\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gwede Mantashe\u2019s comments that young people expect too much from the government have ignited debate, with a political an ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mantashes-youth-unemployment-remarks-spark-backlash\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-10T16:22:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-10T16:33:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/02\/sm_1770728616.361936.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"801\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"429\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mantashes-youth-unemployment-remarks-spark-backlash#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mantashes-youth-unemployment-remarks-spark-backlash\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Mantashe’s Youth Unemployment Remarks Spark Backlash\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-10T16:22:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-10T16:33:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mantashes-youth-unemployment-remarks-spark-backlash\"},\"wordCount\":612,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mantashes-youth-unemployment-remarks-spark-backlash#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/02\/sm_1770728616.361936.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mantashes-youth-unemployment-remarks-spark-backlash#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mantashes-youth-unemployment-remarks-spark-backlash\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mantashes-youth-unemployment-remarks-spark-backlash\",\"name\":\"Mantashe's Youth Unemployment Remarks Spark Backlash - 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