Chair, I was tempted to say, as I am now, to the hon members that I am the last speaker and I would appreciate it if they listened.
Gobane ka Sepedi re fela re re e monate moseleng. [We always say the best things come towards the end.]
This means that it is usually towards the end where things will be far more interesting.
Of course, as a young person, I agree with quite a number of speakers who spoke here. We definitely should look into quite a number of things that they talked about. And also, as young people, we would want those issues to be attended to.
But I am compelled to disagree with the hon member G R Morgan, particularly when he speaks about the issue that employers are being dissuaded from employing young people because it is difficult to dismiss them. Let it sink in: Employers are dissuaded from employing young people because it is difficult to dismiss them! Are we building a South Africa where employers must first and foremost, before they employ a person; think about dismissals?
If that is the case, I am sure that our people will take a long time to vote the DA into power. Because when we speak about job security we are also saying to employers that when they hire these young people, they have the responsibility to develop their skills so that as and when they do participate in the activities of that company they are able to add value. As an employer you are then also adding value to their skills. I don't think it would be correct for the market only to intervene by purposely dismissing young people. It can't be correct. Surely, this can't be true.
This year, 2008, is the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the ANC Youth League's 1948 programme of action. I am looking at hon Gigaba, hen he became the president of the ANC Youth League, followed by President Mbalula and President Julius Malema. They all took their cue from the generation of Anton Lembede, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and O R Tambo, because these are the people who revolutionised the ANC so that they could do the things they did. That is why we are saying, as young people, that we are also aware that this year is the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the 1948 programme of action of the ANC Youth League.
Chairperson, I also want to say that we don't just waffle in the ANC; we provide leadership. That is why we welcome the Presidency's resolve that they are going to bring the African Youth Charter to Parliament for ratification. What would be the intended consequences of the ratification of the African Youth Charter? It would then mean there has to be an adoption of the national youth policy about which the Presidency spoke so that after the policy has been adopted by Cabinet, it would be an Act of Parliament. This would bring about the amalgamation of the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the National Youth Commission into what the hon Sibhidla spoke about - the National Youth Development Agency.
It is our intention, as young people, that when that is done, the National Youth Development Agency must not only be accessible toll-free, it must be present in every locality where young people are found so that young people are able to walk into this development agency for assistance so that we are able to use this agency to alter the material conditions that define our young people. We are therefore saying to the Presidency that they must speed up the process of fine-tuning the policy which exists already so that by the end of the year, before we rise, that policy will have been adopted, which would give then rise to the amendments that have been discussed. As young people, we are also saying that the co-ordination of the Youth Parliament must be done very systematically. You don't want to create a situation where we co-ordinate as if we are just responding to the Auditor- General to show that we have been utilising money, because that would be tantamount to fiscal dumping.
That is why we are saying, as the preparatory meeting is being held today, that we need to co-ordinate from the provinces and the districts till the National Youth Parliament sits so that all of these decisions that are being taken are not just being taken for the purpose of their being noted.
They should be filtered through to portfolio committees, which would then make it a point that all of these departments that have to deal with issues that relate to young people should also be able to include these in their strategic plans. Then we would not be just hide behind the cross-cutting nature of issues that affect young people yet we are unable to give an audit as to how to account for things that we would have been able to do. This also speaks to the way the Joint Monitoring Committee is structured.
When you look at the Rules of Parliament you realise that the Joint Monitoring Committee cannot produce legislation but can only monitor jointly, which is also problematic. I think we need to look into this and then see how we can ensure that this joint monitoring group does not just become a talk shop but is also able to bite in terms of making sure that these rules are changed creatively.
It should be noted as well that the things that all of these speakers spoke about - crime, poverty and HIV/Aids - are a direct consequence of our inability to have a streamlined way of dealing with issues that affect the young. That is why we are saying that all Members of Parliament must be able to understand the African Youth Charter so that they can understand what the consequences would be of the ratification of that charter by this House when it is brought to us.
Let me pay homage to the late Manyoro Lekota. He was one of the best stalwarts that the United Democratic Front had ever produced and was assassinated in 1990. Today marks the 18th anniversary of the passing away of Comrade Manyoro Lekota. His soul will definitely rest in peace, knowing full well that the young people of this country are eager to create conditions that will alter their material circumstances.
Let me also pay homage to Kolobe Mamabolo, one of our young people who passed away during the course of this week. He graduated as a pharmacist but decided to continue serving our people, destitute and hungry, in Mankweng Hospital, and when we lower his mortal remains we will make sure that whatever he stood for, we as young people we will take forward. Of course, we know that he liked to page through Morris Cornforth's Theory of Knowledge and we definitely would make sure that young people of today are also exposed to the writings of Morris Cornforth.
Sibusiso Mamba was one of the young, energetic, egalitarian people to come from Soweto. He came to Cape Town to pursue his interests as a young man and when he went back to Soweto just to get a driver's licence, he was killed. When we were at Avalon cemetery to lower his mortal remains, quite a number of his friends who gathered around his grave, in the language of our people in Alexandra said: "Hulle was ``mof'' - they were high on drugs. All of them were collectively saying that as long as there is no alternative to bettering their lives people would resort to criminal activities. And unfortunately they sang in unison:
We live our lives like this! We live our lives like this! We live our lives like this! Why?
Which then tell us that we have a responsibility to answer their questions so that they should not move across the Atlantic, when young people of this world in Africa are able to do what is better for them. Thank you, Chairperson.
Debate concluded.