Hon Deputy Speaker, hon members of this House will remember, from the debate on Vote No 1, the great respect and salutations by hon Buthelezi to former President Mandela. That having taken away some of his time, he did not have an opportunity to say that, as the IFP, we will support Budget Vote No 1 - The Presidency.
Having said that, Deputy Speaker, with regard to the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA, which consumes almost R400 million of Presidency's budget, the IFP must register that we finally see some hope. The new board has good intentions and we hope to see performance increase. Nevertheless, we remain committed to an IFP resolution that government must establish a dedicated youth Ministry, a call that has been endorsed even by the ANC Youth League.
The board's former executive chairperson complained that under-resourcing of the agency by the National Treasury was one of the main challenges facing the NYDA. Interestingly, the 2013 estimates of national expenditure state, quite without artiface, that the purpose of the NYDA programme is to facilitate the transfer of funds to the NYDA. Securing funds is the programme's main purpose. These funds are supposedly used for interventions aimed at reducing youth unemployment and promoting social cohesion.
The question must therefore be asked: How many jobs have been created through the NYDA? In the 2011-12 financial year, 12 579 employment opportunities were provided. Against the figure of more than nine million unemployed youth, that is a drop in the ocean. Clearly, this is not a viable way of creating jobs. We want to see real job growth amongst the youth, and we wait with bated breath for good intentions to be translated into tangible outcomes. Thank you. [Time expired.]