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| DeurAfriForum Jeug

AfriForum Youth boycotts Youth Day

The national executive of AfriForum Youth announced today that they will not celebrate Youth Day this year. “To boycott Youth Day is our way to indicate that we distance ourselves from a government that oppresses young people because of their inability to create opportunities,” the organisation said in a statement.

“The inability of government now serves as motivation for the youth to take stock of the situation. Youth Day in previous years only became an event political parties used to brag,” Henk Maree, national chairperson of AfriForum Youth, said.

AfriForum Youth lists the following reasons for boycotting Youth Day this year:

  • Government’s National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) does not provide enough funding for thousands of students in need of support. This led to numerous student protests at the beginning of the academic year.
  • The department of education again failed to supply all schools in time with textbooks. As in previous years schools in Limpopo were affected most.
  • School leavers and students do not get equal opportunities to bursaries and admission at universities. Racial classification is responsible for the fact that some of the best candidates do not get opportunities.
  • The involvement of top management of the National Youth Development Agency in corruption and misuse of funds. These funds should have gone to young entrepreneurs and again it is a government organisation involved in corruption.
  • According to the World Economic Forum South African schools recently performed worst out of 148 countries in science and mathematics.
  • According to Stats SA the unemployment rate amongst South African youth increased from 32,7% in 2008 to 36,1% in 2014.

“Government should stop spending thousands of rand annually on youth day activities while there is not much to be proud of,” Maree said.

AfriForum Youth used the weekend to clean and renovate the Witkruismonument (White Cross Monument near Potgietersrus (Mokopane). The monument was erected in remembrance of victims of farm murders. The Youth painted thousands of crosses and cleaned the surrounding areas.