How the youth are fighting to change South Africa’s future | The Stream

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Al Jazeera English

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How the youth are fighting to change South Africa’s future | The Stream


If you are a young South African today, chances are you are unemployed or battling to keep your business afloat without electricity. Thirty years on since South Africa became a democracy, a staggering 60 percent of youth are out of a job. How do you shape your country’s future if you are left by the sidelines? How do you dream of a better life…

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44 Comments

  1. Good show.
    change is needed quick in south africa.
    Youth are struggling n government is wasting the resources of south africa,not using the resources appropriately.

    ❤Anelise you are soo Beautiful❤

  2. All our political parties have an absolute apathy towards catering to the youth in an election. Since 1994 until now, we average about 1.2 million teens turning 18, of that only between 100 000 to 200 000 ever register to vote every year. Our grant system with 20 million getting grants, with only 7 million been tax payers, 25% of this is pre-teen and teen pregnancies between the ages of 10 and 19. Political parties are apathetic and out of touch with the youth, made no effort to engage and have zero strategic plan.

  3. Where to begin…

    1. South Africans are not united by the stretch of the imagination. There is still a divide, especially with our beliefs;
    – We still debate on political worldview: capitalism or socialism
    – We still debate on philosophical views be it Christianity, Isintu, Islam, Hinduism or Atheism
    – We still debate on cultural ideals: whether to be Conservative or Progressive; Afrocentric, Eurocentric or a blend of both
    If we disagree on fundamentals, inevitably we will disagree on everything else
    2. South Africa as a country is symbolic of South Africans as a nation:
    – Compare the 60% unemployment rate to the 65% fatherlessness rate
    – Compare the crime rate to the unemployment/uneducated rate
    – Compare state corruption to community disruption
    – Study the divorce rate, the marriage rate and the birth rate
    Seeing that we have failed to build strong families, we have failed to build strong communities and a strong nation
    3. The solution to our conundrum in my opinion goes as follows:
    – Instead of having the demography of South African provinces determined by ethnic groups, rathed let them be determined by common values and beliefs
    – Before we achieve economic reform, we ought to achieve ethical reform first
    – Before we build our economies, we ought to build enterprises and establish skill development centers, that way we have more compitent and competitive citizens
    – Lastly, let us actively participate in the 4th industrial revolution, from the lowest to highest among us

  4. These are brave, courageous and bright young people. I grieve for the South African youth…..but to rebuild institutions of integrity we need to rid ourselves of the lies of the past….namely that Nelson Mandela DIED in prison in May, 1985. Gibson Makanda was an IMPOSTER set in place by the Vatican. The SA youth will NEVER be free while trapped in a prison of LIES! LIES! LIES!

  5. The frustration of the youth is understandable. But not only of the youth, but also all currently unemployed people in South Africa. It is not their fault since there are many factors contributing to this both past, the present and the future. And it is not the politicians' fault entirely although it can be clearly said that little is done to effectively improve the economy. Many global issues and local demographic issues play a role. It would also be beneficial to know what the definition of 'youth' is for the purposes of this documentary. South Africa had a population explosion since 1994 and before so there is ever increasing competition and pressure for employment in an ailing economy. Add robotics and automation to previously labour intensive industries that have eliminated many manual and repetitive jobs and will continue to do so. The educational standards are poor in many cases, making many unemployables in jobs that have not been taken over by automation. In the meantime, AI and digitization will also contribute to redundancies soon. Militant unions that regularly strike, the general crime situation, the unrest and near anarchy middle of last year, in which many 'youths' took part, further make the country unattractive for any investor.

  6. South Africa needs a do over. Nothing else will work.
    The peace process was not meant to free Africans, only to appear to be doing so. And so the deck was stacked to maintain the status quo and people are beginning to understand that the system currently in place is never going to work for the majority.

    The government of national unity is yet another ploy, intended to keep the majority from doing what the Sahel youth have done in their countries.

    The issues are way deeper and way more complex than what content creators and Bauer could articulate, simply because they haven’t been at it long enough to absorb the massive info pertaining to the why, and therefore the how.

    The interview is appreciated, it’s better than nothing but one hopes that AJ looks for and invites more experienced people who are in a better position to locate each issue in its history and context, an in depth interview.

  7. I am not a fan of this GNU but i am hopeful. The privileged and the disadvantaged are now working together to find solutions. Who knows maybe the only huddle to understanding and working together towards a better future is only a misunderstanding? I am not playing down what apartheid and corruption has done to the nation, but maybe the solutions is to work together and not to expect the other race to understand your side of a story. Experience it.

  8. thank you Al Jazeera for shedding light on the dark lingering truth about youth unemployment in south africa. The current generation is a product of grief, and unemployment is 1 of many socio economic factors that's contributing to other socio economic issues especially in low income communities.

  9. Everyone so happy about GNU… there is no joy in this. Our youth and most of our population suffer never ending poverty. It's absolutely disgusting and heartbreaking.

    Watch Naledi Chirwa's speach to Parliment a few days ago.

    We must fight for our youth ✊️❤️🖤💚

  10. Just love how Anelise conducted the interview with ease,how she pronounces names on the panel, felt like she has known them as a South African.

    I was in awe and green with envy realizing how fanatic and experienced she is.

    Best of luck in feeding us your wisdom.

  11. Being young in South Africa also means you don't vote, despite being the largest population within the country and the one that has the potential to affect the most change the fastest.

  12. Amazing that none of these young people talk about the population explosion …..no economy can keep up with this. Take responsibility for breeding and providing for the people you create…..

  13. YOU can paint the youth as these perfect ppl who just want to work hard and have success want to go to school and want to learn about politics economics and governance but that is a small sector at most 30% being generous but 10% is better representative this you can see it with the videos that go viral on tiktok it is more of the entertainment gossip lifestyle celebrities and influencers , the educational videos a barely getting any traction because what we face isn't just a government problem but a societal problem and parents need to parent and the youth need to invest more in the economic political and governance, and if south africans are serious about ending unemployment they need to support local businesses first only buying foreign when local cannot provide, south african society needs to make videos and individuals who are creatives in sports arts culture businesses and innovation trend to change the landscape and mindset of society to create an environment were , gossip, influencers lifestyle comes second to progress, and ageism needs to end because you are a youth only for a little while but an adult for most of your life

  14. what is this nonsense, teach children manners , the children of today did not experienced apartheid dont make what is not, discipline is needed and appreciation for life, this is reversed racism to talk like this, the children in South Africa today are fortunate and spoiled rotton, i didn't even have school shoes when mine broke and i am Apartheid generation, we didn't always have the best foods, so don't make what's not and stop blaming the past

  15. What the Youths of South Afrika are saying applies to the whole of Afrika.
    In the case os South Afrika the ANC, PAC, and the rest of the Gorilla War fighters needs to be training the Youths who're actually the future of this Continent.
    Training meaning they teach them how to stand against Neo-Colonialism and Imperialism.
    In exception of Senegal and the shaky one in Kenya this Continent are ran by Geriatric and over 60's. Who Careless about the Future of this Continent.
    All the think about is their pockets.
    That must change going forward.

  16. "How do you shape your country's future if you are left by the sidelines?" By developing your own city (Orania) like the Afrikaners are doing. By developing cultural communities where you give work to your own and put up businesses. South Africa since 1994 when we vote for "democracy" is chaotic, democracy in a multicultural country cannot work. Most Afrikaners are not really part of the current South Africa, they are developing themselves while the rest are not really getting anywhere.

  17. NELSON MANDELA DIVORCED WINNIE BECAUSE OF VIOLENCE SPEECH AGAINST OTHER RACE GROUPS AND ……NELSON MANDELA HAD A PURE HEART ❤️ FOR OTHERS WHO WAS BORN IN SOUTH AFRICA 🇿🇦 NOT ONLY THE BLACK COMMUNITY ONLY HE WAS JOINED WITH OTHER RACE WHO STOOD WITH HIM THEREFORE IT WAS CALLED A RAINBOW NATION NOT FOR WHITE'S TO CONTROL SOUTH AFRICA AGAIN ,.FREEDOM WAS NOT FOR FREE NELSON MANDELA SPENT HARDSHIP IN PRISON WITH HIS PEOPLE ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT FOUGHT APARTAID . HE WAS AN PIONEER A LITTLE NOW THE GENERATION THINK OF NELSON MANDELA, HIS FIRST PRIORITY WAS TO EDUCATE THE PEOPLE MEN AND WOMAN AND ELDERLIES SO WAS THE CHILDREN WHO DESERVED TO BE LOVED AND FED WELL, DO WE CAN NOT AFFORD TO FORGET THOSE DAY'S, LOVE YOU MADIBA❤❤❤❤❤R.I.P. OUR HERO AND THE OTHERS…….