Hon Chair, South Africa's exceptionally high youth unemployment rate and anaemic skills development efforts are the most serious imminent threats to our economically struggling democracy. As such, any reasonable intervention to ameliorate the situation needs serious consideration and support, if deserved.
The National Youth Development Agency promised to be one such intervention. Unfortunately, the NYDA has proven to be and continues to be a big black hole into which the government pours good money after bad, funds that could be usefully employed elsewhere. Recent ministerial assurances that the situation regarding the NYDA would soon be turned around for the better remain mere promises. The NYDA, contrary to the vision of the National Development Plan, NDP, of economic inclusivity, has become an exclusive sheltered employment agency for members of the ANC Youth League and Young Communist League.
The NYDA has become an unnecessary drain on the budgets of The Presidency and the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation. Until this festering sore has been cured or excised, as the DA would like to see, the DA cannot support Budget Vote 6. Thank you.