ANC Youth League (ANCYL) deputy secretary-general Olga Seate has called for the mother body to prioritise the youth by granting them leadership roles in government, saying the time has come for the ruling party to open real decision-making spaces for the young people.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ANC 5th National General Council (NGC) hosted at Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre, Seate told Sunday World that the council should begin setting firm timelines for proposals aimed at securing long-term employment for young people.
Setting bar low for entry-level jobs
She explained that the youth league has consistently pushed for the removal of previous work experience requirements for entry-level jobs across all sectors, arguing that the policy trapped young graduates outside the labour market for years.
The government has already agreed to this change. Seate said it is now widely understood that previous work experience is no longer required for internships and related junior-level vacancies.
However, she warned that temporary employment alone does not guarantee a future.
“What has been missing is to safeguard livelihoods and job security of these young people. We have only been able to achieve a lot of learnerships, a lot of apprenticeships from all across government departments.
“But we have not yet achieved getting the full, holistic livelihood of a young person straight from university being absorbed into a government department, or any entity of the government, or even the private sector and having a permanent job,” said Seate.
Private sector must also empower youth
Seate argued that the government should do more to push the private sector to follow these commitments, saying policy change alone does not automatically translate into stable employment.
She also questioned why young people are mostly confined to short-term entry-level roles instead of being prepared and supported to occupy higher levels of responsibility.
She said the Youth League is now confident that it has built enough internal strength within the ANC to demand a visible share of leadership.
“Next year we are going for local elections. We want mayors, we want speakers, we want chief whips, we want MMCs, we want coucillors. We want to put it to South Africa that young people are able.
“Young people after 30 years, they got degrees, they got masters, others have PhDs—what must they do with them, if they can’t be a mayor that is called a doctor, a medical doctor that is also a manager at a hospital somewhere is South Africa,” said Seate.
