Youth unemployment is one of the major challenges faced by the Buffalo City Metro, BCM deputy mayor and ANC mayoral candidate Xola Pakati admitted yesterday.
He was addressing a National Union of Mine Workers (NUM) general meeting at Eskom headquarters in Beacon Bay. Pakati said lack of skills and development was a major cause of youth unemployment in the region.
“It needs urgent intervention,” he said.
“We must address it, but the responsibility doesn’t lie only with the municipality but all stakeholders.
“Businesses, the provincial government and other institutions should assist us in addressing the issue of youth unemployment.”
Pakati said the municipality needed to use educational institutions in the BCM area for training and youth development.
His assertions come hot on the heels of the release of a report into the state of South African cities, compiled by the South African Cities Network.
The report revealed that only 17% of Buffalo City residents had studied beyond matric, the worst finding of all eight metros in the country.
This was compared with Johannesburg (29%), Ekurhuleni (24.3%); Ethekwini (24.1%), Tshwane (24%) and Msunduzi (21%).
The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro (19.7%) and City of Cape Town (19.9%) are almost tied, while in Mangaung only 18.4% of the population studied further than matric.
SA Cities Network CEO Sithole Mbanga said cities needed to work with education institutions to improve the quality of education and infrastructure development.
Pakati appeared to be responding to the findings of the report when he said: “We must harness the skills of our youth within the municipality and develop their talent.
“Remember, not everyone should be employed but others must have the expertise to start their own businesses,” he said.
“As the municipality, we will engage with local education institutes to address some of these issues.”
He said that even though the municipality was accelerating service delivery, it had not yet been able to create opportunities in areas where the people lived.
“As long as we do not take services and opportunities to the people, we will always have a problem of inward migration.
“People will always want to come to the areas that have better services, and erect shacks, leaving their big houses in rural areas,” Pakati said.
He also warned that if the ANC was not capable of advancing the aspirations of the poor and society at large, it would cease to be relevant.
“The party must always advance itself to be relevant and adapt to new changes or it will cease to exist,” he said. — siphem@dispatch.co.za
Pakati outlines a vision for youth jobs and training
He was addressing a National Union of Mine Workers (NUM) general meeting at Eskom headquarters in Beacon Bay. Pakati said lack of skills and development was a major cause of youth unemployment in the region.
“It needs urgent intervention,” he said.
“We must address it, but the responsibility doesn’t lie only with the municipality but all stakeholders.
“Businesses, the provincial government and other institutions should assist us in addressing the issue of youth unemployment.”
Pakati said the municipality needed to use educational institutions in the BCM area for training and youth development.
His assertions come hot on the heels of the release of a report into the state of South African cities, compiled by the South African Cities Network.
The report revealed that only 17% of Buffalo City residents had studied beyond matric, the worst finding of all eight metros in the country.
This was compared with Johannesburg (29%), Ekurhuleni (24.3%); Ethekwini (24.1%), Tshwane (24%) and Msunduzi (21%).
The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro (19.7%) and City of Cape Town (19.9%) are almost tied, while in Mangaung only 18.4% of the population studied further than matric.
SA Cities Network CEO Sithole Mbanga said cities needed to work with education institutions to improve the quality of education and infrastructure development.
Pakati appeared to be responding to the findings of the report when he said: “We must harness the skills of our youth within the municipality and develop their talent.
“Remember, not everyone should be employed but others must have the expertise to start their own businesses,” he said.
“As the municipality, we will engage with local education institutes to address some of these issues.”
He said that even though the municipality was accelerating service delivery, it had not yet been able to create opportunities in areas where the people lived.
“As long as we do not take services and opportunities to the people, we will always have a problem of inward migration.
“People will always want to come to the areas that have better services, and erect shacks, leaving their big houses in rural areas,” Pakati said.
He also warned that if the ANC was not capable of advancing the aspirations of the poor and society at large, it would cease to be relevant.
“The party must always advance itself to be relevant and adapt to new changes or it will cease to exist,” he said. — siphem@dispatch.co.za
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