Closed meeting with Deputy Minister about racial policies
The national management of AfriForum Youth met with Buti Manamela, Deputy Minister in the Presidency, last week to discuss the National Youth Policy that will be implemented in the next five years.
“We clearly objected to the favouring of certain races in the Policy. Empowerment is important in order to prepare the youth to compete on a fair and even level, but empowerment based on race is unacceptable,” said Eduan Dupper, spokesperson for AfriForum Youth.
The document made several proposals in terms of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) where black people are exclusively favoured above other races, land reform and bursaries. However, an agreement was made that bursaries will be awarded to all racial groups, based on socio-economic circumstances.
AfriForum Youth pointed out to Manamela that:
- Development programmes for young people should not be solely driven and controlled by governmental institutions like the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), but that other youth organisations should also get the chance to implement youth programs.
- Entrepreneurship must be the key solution and support in this regard should not be based on race. It was also suggested that regulations should be made easier for young people in order to help them start their own businesses as soon as possible.
“Although we question the favouring of certain racial groups in the policy framework, we are thankful for the honest way in which the meeting was conducted and for the chance to deliver input on behalf of minority groups that are frequently overlooked in the government’s plans,” Dupper said.
“We are now compiling a detailed report containing proposals and feedback regarding the proposed policy which will be handed over to the Office of the Deputy Minister,” Dupper added.
AfriForum Youth forms part of a group of youth organisations who will be gathering at a national conference later this year to further discuss and formulate the policy.
