Thank you, Speaker. I want to show the House the human side of unemployment today. I want to show the House what it feels like to be young and unemployed in this country.
There is a young woman called Olorato Moduka who lives in my constituency in Mangaung. Olorato is 24 years of age and has been unemployed since 2004. She dearly wants to get a job in order to save money to start her own business. She so desperately wants to contribute to the community by creating job opportunities for others. If only one day she could say: "I am able to have my own business".
There is also a man called Amos Mokghethi. He is a 33-year-old from Botshabelo in Mangaung. He wants to have the opportunity to work with cars. He is confident that he will be able to make a success of himself if he is granted the opportunity to acquire the skills to do so. He hopes that government will bring about change to the unemployment in his own community, but Amos feels that the government is only focused on creating opportunities for a few individuals and he is committed to changing South Africa into a prosperous country for all.
The President shatters the hope of these young people each and every time he delays the implementation, waters down or creates a Cosatu-stamped version of youth unemployment.