I recently attended a speech by a prominent South African political leader, Ronald Lamola, about the future of the youth in the country. Lamola is the current Deputy President of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) and because of my position within the South African Students Congress (SASCO) at UCT as well as an ANCYL member, his speech held a lot of relevance to me and my branch.

He represented all that is the ANCYL right now, exuding bravado, confidence, sway, populism and all other current ANCYL trademarks. Even from afar he still managed to show off his presence, demanding respect from all those around him. He is the people’s choice. Or second choice, depending on how you view South African politics.

There is no denying that there are underlying tensions within our society especially within the youth. The inequality within the country seems to be perpetuating itself relentlessly as the youth naturally take the largest hit. The youth are looking for someone to champion their cause, someone to be their voice to the powers that be. The ANCYL, championing economic freedom for the youth within their lifetime.

As a member (“in good standing” as many would add on) of the ANCYL, I hold pride in respecting those elected into leadership. However, whlist listening to the Lamola, it was evident that respect should not allow one to ignore his/her own feelings on a matter. Especially if those feelings centre on whether one should decide what the speaker is saying as right or wrong.

Lamola pointed out many hard and relevant “facts” about the state of our country, many of which I whole-heartedly agree with. Issues such as inequality within society, lack of transformation within the economy perpetuating the gap between the rich and poor. A statement that particularly struck me was when he said that sports cannot be the only thing that will unite a country such as South Africa; the only thing that will unite us is economic freedom.

Clearly well versed in the art of persuading a crowd towards his views there was an underlying theme within his speech that struck me as unacceptable. His continued reflection of society being one in which the white population continually takes away from the black population, a society that will only be free when black people take from white people. The repetitive nature in which he jovially claimed that white people remain the root cause of all problems within our society is one that worried me as well as deeply saddened me.

To have someone in such a high position within our organisation continually trivialise our struggle against inequality, unemployment and poverty to mere race is regrettable. Achieving economic freedom within our country has and will always be a complex matter. It is not one in which a simple solution will produce a simple end product. Lamola’s utterances should not be plainly accepted by the youth of South Africa.

With the end of Apartheid came the universal call from all people, that what transpired during those years should never happen again. Our society should build towards addressing the injustices of the past. Those without the means should be given the means. Those disadvantaged by the past should be allowed to compete equally with those who have been advantaged by the past. Our society is one already built on inequality. We should not make it one built on fear as well.

My respect for my ANCYL leaders remains intact, but far from certain. A lesson learnt this week is that sometimes those who lead you are not necessarily leading down the right path. Respect your leaders, but respect your feelings, thoughts and opinions more. Cherish them, because sometimes when you are being led astray those same feelings, thoughts and opinions will place you back on the right path.

Kgotsi Chikane

 

May I begin by saying JazakAllah khair to the Ambassador for agreeing to host us this evening. May we

as the SAWIP class of 2011 also thank the Deputy Minister for agreeing to attend this event.

 

We are here today to talk about economic freedom in our lifetime. Any discussion on this issue should answer three questions: What is economic freedom? What is a lifetime? And how can young

people contribute to this freedom today?

 

What is a lifetime? The average life expectancy in South Africa is 55 years old. That means that for most

of the people in this room, they have 35 years left. With some rounding off, this leaves us at the year

2050: this is the time period we are talking about.

 

What kind of economic freedom can we see in this period? Here, it is important that we are

realistic. By 2050 we will not reach nirvana, heaven or janah. Yet similarly, we cannot simply aim to stay

in the same place that we are at. Economic freedom would therefore be some intermediary location

between these two places. To me, economic freedom therefore, means the ability to meet all of our

people's needs. Economic needs, educational needs, needs in healthcare and needs for meaningful employment

 

opportunities.

 

What position then do we find ourselves in today? A friend of mine often describes South Africa as a

cappuccino economy, one with a vast black base which supports a thin layer of white

foam at the top completed recently by a few black sprinkles at the surface. Our mission therefore can be

stated as an attempt to stir the cappuccino and turn it from short skinny into grande (applause).

 

Yet we face two great challenges as we sit here this Youth Day. First, the new diagnostic report

produced by the National Planning Commission makes the point that our economy remains resource

dependent both in the sense that we still rely on the exportation of mineral resources as a source of

growth but also to the extent that we rely heavily on the extraction of natural resources to fuel our

economy.

 

A second defective feature of our economy is the extent to which it remains structured to service only a

small fraction of the population. Our townships continue to expand around a few major cities that

provide for only the most privileged South Africans.

 

In this light, I would like to share some very brief thoughts on the role that young people should be

playing in this battle.

 

First, all young peole should stay in South Africa, at least for some time, ensuring that the skills that

South Africa has created remain here.

 

 

Second, the youth voice has disappeared from view. I believe there is a need for a youth voice which

makes use of the newfound communications tools to harness a unified movement. While not every

South African has access to the internet via a desktop or a laptop, nearly every South African has a

cellular phone.

 

Moreover, I think it is critical that we use this voice in promoting advocacy and inspiring accountability.

Shouting louder when our leaders falter and congratulating when they advance our nation.

 

Finally, I would call on older South Africa who hold the reins of power to use the young South Africans

who are willing to serve. We are young and we are here. Waiting fifteen years for us to come of age

may be too long. We need to be out to work in South Africa now.

 

I believe these are some ways that we can stir the cappuccino economy.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

"Avoiding Economic Land Mines" discusses the dangers of a narrow focus on the expropriation of mineral resources and land as a path to economic freedom.

16 June 2011- The South African Ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, hosted a special youth day event at his residence on 16 June 2011 with the theme- Economic Freedom in Our Lifetime. Special guests at the event included the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Marius Fransman, and the President of the Africa Society, Bernadette Paolo.

 A panel of students and a panel of young professionals talked about education, politics and a variety of issues that both America and South African youth face. As one of the speakers for the event, I presented the closing address.

 “When we talk about economic freedom we could be talking about free markets and trade freedom and private property rights or investment freedom or freedom of economic choice or freedom from want.

 One of the key ways to promote economic freedom is to spur economic growth. We all know that the gini coefficient for South Africa paints a dire picture of the second highest income inequality in the world. Because of this, it is doubtful if GDP is a good indicator of our economic growth.

 Today we have talked about the other indicators of economic growth. We have talked about increasing the skills of the youth. We have discussed education as a key focus area to promote economic growth. We have discussed modern communication as a form of education and skills training. We have networked and learnt about networking. We have discussed community and built bridges between South African and American youth.

 It is particularly important to tackle the issue of economic freedom as youth and for youth. Unfortunately, unemployment among South African youth is particularly high. 70% of the unemployed are between the ages of 18 and 35.

 Education is important because it promotes economic growth but also has vast social benefits including vibrancy/diversity of economic activity, a more tolerant and better informed citizenry, stronger social criticism, better communication and enhanced democratic processes.  

 In order to reap these benefits we are obliged to promote better education in schools in the second educational sphere, where most previously disadvantaged schools lie, which continues to perform badly despite massive funding increases. If opportunities are created for scholars from the second sphere they will begin to take higher paying jobs and benefit the economy and themselves.

 When we talk about education, we should remember that education is not only the formal, in-class experiences of those who are privileged to attend university. Education includes practical training and skill-enhancing opportunities such as the one we are enjoying at this very moment, courtesy of the South African embassy on this special day.

 As we move towards a more social understanding of economic growth we have to acknowledge that access to services, health levels and cultural harmonization are all factors that contribute towards economic freedom.

In closing I would like to read a quote from the African Youth Charter which is known to both the South African and American youth here today. South Africa signed the charter in 2009- ‘Africa’s greatest resource is its youthful population and through their active and full participation, Africans can surmount the difficulties that lie ahead’ “

 After the event we were treated to a real South African braai and conversation with the guests. What a wonderful way to celebrate Youth Day.