... their efforts and strides to build a united, nonracial and nonsexist South Africa and dismantle all apartheid social relations. Thus, I will confine myself to the post-1994 social relations and programmes by young people to unite our people, which underpin the work by the youth in various formations across the religious, political and cultural spectrums. Foremost, it must be noted that understanding the apartheid social structure and the current challenges facing the youth in South Africa will give credence to the efforts that ordinary young South Africans have taken to create a nonsexist, nonracial and democratic society.
The situation was comprehensively explained by Dr Blade Nzimande during the Jobs for Youth Summit, organised by the Young Communist League of SA, and I quote:
Ironically, the very problems facing our youth are exploited by other forces to create further problems and constraints. For instance, our youth today is a target of drugs, exploited by labour brokers, given false hopes and corrupted by tenderpreneurs and a target of decadent American values and cultural onslaught. Therefore sustained youth programmes by all youth formations are necessary to counter these problems. A key dimension of this is a sustained struggle to cultivate positive values among our young people: that it is good to be educated, service to one's country and social solidarity, and to defeat ideas of dog eat dog.
We therefore support the National Youth Development Agency as a vehicle to unite further the young people of our country, and we further call upon the government to increase funding for this vehicle of youth development.
Following the recent racial outbursts and misunderstandings after the death of Mr Eugene Terre'Blanche and the singing of particular revolutionary songs, our country has taken positive steps, which have fostered social cohesion and national unity such as the hosting of Super 14 rugby matches in Soweto and the showing of support for Bafana Bafana by all our people, especially the youth.
Furthermore, one noteworthy development was a constructive meeting of the ANC and FF Plus held three weeks ago, at which it was agreed that there would be a follow-up meeting to take forward matters that were raised by the FF Plus.
The FF Plus raised the following issues: name changes in the country, use of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in our education system, safety and security of farmers, issues of amnesty, self-determination, poverty and affirmative action. It is against this background that we urge all young people across the political spectrum to engage in debates inside their political organisations and youth organisations alike to give impetus to these debates about the aforementioned issues.
However, we should also emphasise that the concepts of nonracialism, social cohesion and nation-building should not take precedence over the genuine transformation in sport and recreation, in the economy of our country, including in factors of representation, selection on merit and resource allocation.
The Constitution of the Republic in its preamble persuades us, amongst other things, to recognise the injustices of our past, heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.
In conclusion, the submission by the ANC to the World Conference Against Racism held in August 2001 outlined the universal message and spirit with which to welcome the world to our shores during Youth Month and in celebrating 16 June as follows. The richness of the planet's cultural diversity is in itself the latent all-embracing spiritual force from which we can create a world that is free of conflict and poverty, racism and intolerance. Through the centuries we have witnessed disregard and contempt for the inalienable dignity of human beings. We have witnessed barbaric acts that have outraged the conscience of humankind, and we have witnessed slavery, genocide, colonialism and war.
We have proclaimed that the advent of a world in which all human beings enjoy fundamental human rights and freedoms is the highest desire for all. I thank you, Chair. [Applause.]
Inkosi N B SHABALALA (KwaZulu-Natal): Hon Chairperson, hon members, one is privileged to participate in today's debate about our young people. To understand the majority of our youth today, we need to understand the context in which they are living.
The key features of our country can be summed up as follows: the persistence of many features of apartheid; growing socioeconomic inequality; mass poverty and unemployment; declining living standards; and a devastating HIV and Aids pandemic - a pronounced feature of social disintegration. Despite all the interventions by the democratic government, young people bear the brunt of all these realities. This is the stuff of the youth in crisis.
However, the youth in their organisations in the townships, in the villages and on the farms of South Africa need to take advantage of the favourable legislative and policy framework for participation in processes affecting their needs and interests.
Organised youth should strive to participate in and influence every phase of the process of consultation, planning, budgeting, managing, monitoring, public feedback and review.
In order to know their rights, young people need to know the relevant provisions of the Constitution and the duties that the different spheres of government expect of them.
Local government, for instance, has a unique position in relation to local communities. It is closer to the people and more accessible than other spheres of government. Youth should identify a full range of specific demands around all these duties and responsibilities of local government. The National Youth Commission has stated that local government is most strategically positioned to implement youth policy and youth work. The view is that local municipalities' youth development visions and policies can be translated into services and facilities that meet the needs of the youth.
The dissolution of the National Youth Commission and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund, however, was not a surprise as it was a response to the failures of these bodies to spearhead development.
The mammoth challenge facing the National Youth Development Agency is whether it is capable of rising above the tripartite alliance politics in order to restore ownership of the agency and youth development itself to all young people, irrespective of political affiliation.
We are impressed that the NYDA has taken the initiative, together with the Local Organising Committee, to facilitate training of 15 000 youth volunteers. They are participating in road shows and targeting rural areas in order to mobilise the youth to rally behind Bafana Bafana.
With the 2010 Fifa World Cup being here, there could not be a better time for South Africa to show the world that sport does indeed inspire and unite people. The NYDA, as one of the high-level institutions focusing on youth development, needs to deepen democracy, encourage more inclusive policy- making and, especially, increase more public engagement and empowerment of young people.
Hosting the 2010 Fifa World Cup provides an excellent opportunity for young people in our country to gain skills and work experience in a wider range of areas, such as foreign language interpreting, call centre operating, tour guiding, marshalling and ushering, etc.
When the World Cup is over, that would be the time to intensify soccer training, the building of local stadia and to have administrative help, equipment and technical support for communities, so that kids can play the game regardless of their family's finances, gender, geography, ethnicity or language. Funding will help improve public sports facilities across South Africa, further boosting South African sport and helping to build better and healthier communities.
Organised sport is being used throughout the world to maintain social cohesion and facilitate peace. As South Africa has a population of more than 9 million young people between the ages of 15 and 25, youth sport represents one of the most dynamic mechanisms in society for transformation, because organised sport can engage the youth of all races, genders and classes. Thank you, Chairperson. [Time expired.] [Applause.]