Elections 2014: Putting Young People First

This contribution was first published by A! Campaign for Action and Accountability http://activeandunited.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/elections-2014-putting-young-people-first/

I am a young person living in rural KZN in South Africa and passionate about improving the lives of ordinary citizens in this beautiful part of Africa. I am not affiliated to any political party. I have had people recruit me to join the various political parties that exist in South Africa’s political makeup. Truth is, the more I listen to these people the more I realise that I do not have faith in the whole lot. Some have gone on to label me an anarchist and one who is anti-establishment because of my relentless stance in joining a political party.

While I am of the opinion that one does not need to be affiliated to effect change I find myself caught between a hard place and a rock. “How so?” you probably ask yourself; let me explain. The elections are approaching thick and fast. With almost all the political parties having made public their manifestos I find it a great travesty that I am expected to participate in these elections; and yes I am registered to vote. All the political parties have forgotten one key ingredient in their manifestos according to me. All have neglected to have young people at the centre of these manifestos. Maybe this is because young people expect things to be done for them; the entitlement syndrome that we are so quickly diagnosed with. I’ll shed more light on that diagnosis on another blog post, now back to these manifestos. Through my eyes every country that is serious about its future invests in its youth. By virtue of these political parties neglecting the youth I am of the opinion that they do not have a concrete plan for the millions of us who are a “ticking time bomb” by the admission of others.

The looming elections in South Africa are a bit of the same old happening again and again. Young people are expected to come out in their numbers to vote for a party that will deliver. The only snag is that the only delivering that will happen is the continued side-lining of young people. The National Youth Policy 2009-2014 is another has been in the greater scheme of things. It is another well-written document that has no implementation strategy. The less said about the agency setup to take the lead in this regard the better.

It is high time political parties realised that they refer to young people when it refers to the general public, after all, more than 60% of South Africa’s population are young people. The time is right to put young people first. While we await political parties to catch the drift of where we are coming from as the youth, we are mobilising ourselves. Accountability is what we want from the political parties; amongst a pro-youth approach. We want to be involved in building the country into what we imagine it to be.

Of 67 minutes and service delivery

Last year on Mandela Day my friends and I dedicated more than 67 minutes to fix the tap where most of our community members get their drinking water. It was an act of necessity more than it was out of the goodness of our hearts.

I live in a rural area where access to water is a long-standing challenge. One would imagine that given the water scarcity challenges confronting the country the response to this particular challenge would be swift. The tap in question is located right next to the Umzumbe Local Municipality offices. I reluctantly approached the receptionist at the municipal office for assistance. My previous experiences with the officials at this municipality had not been great. On one occasion I was made to wait an hour to see the Speaker. Mind you I had made an appointment with the said person and had called the previous day to confirm that appointment.

The receptionist didn't give me much of a reception. She told me that Umzumbe Local Municipality did not deal with water issues, that I should call the relevant body and that being Ugu Water. I then asked if she could call Ugu Water on our behalf to which she refused citing stolen telephone cables that had rendered the municipality not reachable over the phone. I believed her and just as I was leaving the reception area a miracle happened. The phone rang and she promptly answered it as her job dictated thus. I hung around a bit, hoping that she would call me back and make the call to Ugu Water on my behalf. I decided to walk away when she did not call me back. I had been hopeful given that she had the means to call Ugu Water on our behalf.

I gave a report back to my friends and we then called Ugu Water. The response we got was that they would send a people over to attend to the problem. After waiting for close to two hours we eventually decided to attend to the broken tap ourselves. It was clear that help would not come. So off we went, shovels and picks on our shoulders, tools determined to fix the tap ourselves. Some 2 hours later and more than 200 litres of wasted water we were victorious in fixing the tap.

Today, being Mandela Day, I was reminded of the events of that day last year. I walked past the tap my friends and I had fixed last year. The situation has gotten worse. Instead of there being a tap there is now a pipe that has a nozzle to control the flow of water. There is a puddle of mud where the pipe sits and one must do a balancing act on the stones that have been placed there to make the tap accessible. The health of the community is potentially at risk as a result of this.

It is safe to conclude that the Umzumbe Local Municipality is not bothered by the state of this once-was-tap pipe that gives drinking water to the community it serves. The fact this pipe sits literally two paces from their premises is neither here nor there. I think they await others to give of their 67 minutes to make up for their service delivery debacle.

Our Situation

Questions of becoming have lingered on my mind for a long period of time. As a young South African, these questions have prompted me to look at what is happening around me; locally and internationally. ‘What is our situation as black South Africans?’ I have continually asked myself.

In South Africa we have inherited a rich and diverse history. Part of this history is intertwined with issues of colonial conquest and an oppression of the black people. The current political setups, spearheaded by the ANC-led government, are engaged in attempts at redressing the many imbalances of the past, and ultimately bring about transformation. A daunting task if you ask me! This envisioned transformation is expressed differently, depending on political affiliation or conviction. There are those who have gone to great lengths to expand on this notion of transformation, how it ought to be brought about, how it lacks, how it can be fast-tracked, etc. All do agree however, that transformation is needed.

Looking at transformation at the individual level, I am of the opinion that the best place for it to be effected is the mind. Our minds need to be transformed. This transformation is a step in the right direction as we forge an all-inclusive South African identity, as we shape a collective future for all South Africans; both black and white. In forging this identity and common future we need to liberate ourselves of the past. This liberation is an intricate process. For any previously oppressed group of people to be liberated they need to be at the forefront of their liberation; they need to navigate carefully in both the political and socio-economic environments. This then further compels us as young black South Africans to stand up for ourselves, to become active within the systems that are put in place to bring about transformation.

Moreover, as a young person committed to positive change in the country, I believe that through reflection we are able to take the necessary steps towards the transformation of our minds. Our socialization, and the environment in which that socialization takes place, have an impact on this transformation. One of the most important elements of this socialization in post-apartheid South Africa is the education system’s quality deliveries of skills that help young people navigate the socio-political landscape. Based on the assumption that delivering quality education to society has positive returns in the long run it then follows that thinking deeply upon our situation as young South Africans is key.

Having touched on the transformation of the mind and the link it has with education, it is necessary to stress synergy of the various education departments, society and other relevant stakeholders in ensuring a quality education. Overcoming the various challenges within our education system so that it ultimately contributes towards the transformation of the mind should be stressed beyond being solely the government’s responsibility. Societies need to seek means that will help transform them; and where these means do not exist society should help create them. This can be done through social movements or social clubs. The private sector should play a more meaningful role in ensuring a quality education. After all, it is also a beneficiary of the schooling system.

One possible avenue where the private sector, working with communities, could champion a cause in this regard is that of reading clubs. I have been part of reading clubs for children aged 4-10 years old. These reading clubs are a fun and learning environment outside conventional school. They bring parents, teachers, the young and the old a chance to come together to read, write, sing, play and dance together. They further allow children a chance to grasp the use of an additional language outside the school environment. The Annual National Assessment (ANA) results of 2012 show moderate progress when compared with the previous year. This should encourage us further in continuing with initiatives such as this one. One thing about reading clubs is that it only takes one adult, 3-5 young children, and a great story book to get you going! The boost in confidence on the part of the children that attend is plain to see; their spelling has improved and so has their behavior- I dare not leave out the countless smiles they have put on my face. The seeds of the love for reading and writing sown in these children will serve to liberate our minds and  strengthen our democracy. Ironically in South Africa, there is a general level of apathy towards the democratic process as a result of service delivery issues amongst others.

So then, what does this mean for us as young people? The most important consideration is the emphasis on education. Considering that higher education remains highly inaccessible to the majority of black people we need to find various means to get our societies educated and skilled. Without these there is not much we can do to change the status quo and contribute to society at large. We need to inspire young people to take an active role in the advancement of liberation.

How Can Young People Claim More Space To Drive Change?

(Delivered at UKZN Graduate School of Business, at the launch of the Activate! Exchange on 20 March 2013)

There is a global trend where governments formulate youth policies that respond to the changing conditions of young people in the 21st century. Ironically, the extent of young people’s involvement in the formulation of these is questionable.

Currently South Africa has the National Youth Commission (NYC) Act, 1996 (Act 19 of 1996), the NYP 2000 and the National Youth Development Policy Framework (NYDPF) 2002/07 which are youth legislative policy frameworks that were undertaken by the national Parliament to ensure that youth development and service delivery for young people happens. These undertakings outline the South African government’s attempts at creating an enabling environment for young people to drive change.

I am grateful that such measures have been undertaken; it is a step in the right direction as we grapple with issues of transformation as young people, and as society at large. These legislative processes amply outline institutional arrangements for youth development and give perspective on how the delivery of services for young people was to occur, with their involvement and meaningful participation.

The government’s perspective on youth issues must be properly aligned with true realities of young people.

There are 4 propositions that I will make that should enable young to be effective in driving change.

1. YOUNG PEOPLE NEED TO BE INFORMED

Information is a key support in public- and private-sector interventions to transform poor neighbourhoods into economically vibrant, diverse communities. The lack of information, perhaps as a result of limitations in the education system and service delivery in general, has created asymmetrical developmental patterns that disenfranchise our youth; more especially those from rural areas. This is a stark contrast when you consider that today, thanks to technological advances and the recent census; we have more information about our youth than ever before. With that information and technology together, we have the power to be of better service to young people. The critical question is ‘do we as a nation and as young people have the willpower to do it?’ I believe that we do, both as a nation and as young people.

Young people need to be informed so that they can awaken from a deep slumber induced by ‘social anaesthetics’ such as drugs, alcohol, television, mass culture, anger, destructive behaviour, defensiveness, selfishness, etc. These anaesthetics make them disillusioned about the reality confronting young people today. Lifelong learning is what we need to advocate amongst young people. As learning beings we can transform our societies. Learning is the best thing we can do for ourselves as young people; this encompasses both formal and informal learning. We need to find ways of engaging young people as civil society, as the public and private sectors in more meaningful ways. Faith-based organizations also need to review how they make relevant the message of the Bible, African beliefs systems, the Koran, and the Bhagavad Gita, etc. to the young people of today. One cannot deny the influence that faith-based organizations have on young people generally and their capacity in the learning process.

Young people need to familiarize themselves with the Municipal Handbook for Councillors, and Making Local Government Work: An Activist’s Guide. Knowledge of these will enable young people to position themselves to be part of the change-making process and hold themselves accountable.

The guide will help you:

a)    Understand local government and what it should be doing for

 every community

b) Monitor (or keep track of) what local government is doing

c) Find out what to do when local government ignores the

    community or breaks the rules, and your role as the youth

d) Take action to enforce our rights to basic services such as water, sanitation,    electricity, housing, and health to name a few

e) Find organizations that can help you in bringing about change.

The need for young people to be informed and knowledgeable cannot be stressed enough. We should look at social clubs and the potential they have in imparting knowledge and information that can assist young people to occupy more space to drive change in their communities.

2. YOUNG PEOPLE NEED TO BE CONSULTED

Once value-added information is attained, young people can provide their own insights and cognitive knowledge of the situation to turn that information into actionable knowledge. It is only at this step that young people can contribute to the mass democratic movement and help bring about transformation.

To provide balanced and objective information to assist in understanding the politics of today and their influence on topical issues, to seek alternatives, to access opportunities and find solutions to the myriad of social challenges they are confronted with young people need to consult, and to be consulted. The Activate! Leadership for Public Innovation and others like it are flagship programmes aimed at engaging young people in the change-making process. Young people should partake in such initiatives.

Planning for youth consultation involves

·        Consider legislative requirements

·        Select a non-partisan level of community youth engagement

·        Set up and maintain a community youth engagement record

·        Establish evaluation measures.

All these points are aimed at enhancing and strengthening a youth involvement strategy.

3. YOUNG PEOPLE NEED TO BE INVOLVED

Public participation is crucial in the building of an effective democracy. This entails participation as voters, as residents who express their views before, during and after policy development, as participants in ward committees and IDP forums, as activists in monitoring the performance of local government.

Poor service delivery, a lack of job and study opportunities has made young people despondent and apathetic in their own development. To overcome this state of apathy rigorous involvement is needed on the part of young people.

Youth involvement builds “social capital” -- social ties, networks, and support -- which is associated with better community development and well-being. Participatory decision-making can uncover and mobilize community assets, strengths, and resources, such as young people, that would have been otherwise overlooked. Processes that can engage young people in identifying the resources and assets in their communities that can be mobilized to improve health, wellness, job opportunities and quality of life need to be put in place. Stated differently, young people need to identify themselves as a resource unto themselves.

Youth involvement is about opening up and engaging young people, and acknowledging and using their talents to help solve the problems that they own and live with every day. It is about including young people in decision-making processes, which is critical in the successful development of acceptable policies and decisions in government, the private sector and the community.

Implementing a youth engagement strategy entails developing an inclusive Action Plan, completing a Task Breakdown and the evaluation thereof.

4. YOUNG PEOPLE NEED TO COLLABORATE

This proposition is based on an understanding of the community’s resources — individual capacities and abilities, and institutional resources with the potential for promoting personal and community development.

The overall objective is to promote connections or relationships between individuals, between individuals and organizations, and between organizations and organizations. This should be translated further into collaboration between youth from different social classes and racial categories; which then broadens the horizon for young people and facilitates social re-imagination.

When young people are organized they can be better positioned to bring about change in their communities. I will stress the need for faith-based organizations, public and private institutions to make a concerted effort in engaging young people. Similarly, as young people we need to overcome the numerous divides that keep us from meaningfully engaging with each other. These divides are a reflection of our reality; and that reality is that we will not be young forever; and ultimately, the opportunities available to us as young people will come to pass. It is thus apparent that young people need to organize themselves as agents of change.

In conclusion, we need to engage with the powers that be in a non-violent manner for the advancement of an effective democracy; being informed facilitates active and meaningful engagement. We need to appropriately consult and involve ourselves in the processes of inter-sectoral collaboration. This means that we, as both black and white youth, need to collectively work together to transform South Africa and realize a non-racial country, while promoting the spirit of unity amongst ourselves.

Anticipating 21 March 2013

With March 21 looming, my mind can’t help but wonder what the scenario will be like in this year’s Human Rights Day celebrations.  Whether we understand it or not, this day remains a momentous one in our history. In the recent past we have seen top politicians, mainly from the ruling party, elbowing each other for a platform to engage the masses. Mind you, this is not a ‘Mangaung’ .

What will they say this year? Perhaps they will give us a history lesson, or perhaps a monotonous rant as has been customary of politicians. Maybe they will tell the people of Sharpeville what this day means for them. The possibilities of what they could say are endless. I am certain of this one thing though; they will not tell the people of Sharpeville or anywhere else for that matter to embark on mass demonstrations on this day; nor on any other day! The memories of Sharpeville, and more recently those of Andries Tatane and Marikana, are clear examples that we should not demonstrate.

Many people also forget  that on 21 March 1960  it was not just the people of Sharpeville that took to the streets. People of Langa and the Vaal going right up to Van der Bijl Park heeded the call! This could not have been achieved without the organizing and mobilizing of people, from students to workers. It is a further testament of standing in solidarity. While the events of this day mark a fundamental attack on the pass laws of the apartheid system, the public today has a further challenge of devising peaceful means of demonstration.

 What this means for the politics of today remains to be seen; and the extent to which the politicians and the ruling party are prepared to listen is anybody’s guess. We wait to see how this year’s events play themselves out.

Indod' enkulu (The Big Man)

The heroes of June 16 1976 are ordinary people we see on a daily basis. Now without giving you a history lesson, the point of departure for the youth of 1976 was the blatant refusal to comply with an order that made Afrikaans the medium of instruction in their schools. The aftermath that followed remains entrenched in our memories; and as young people we continuously search deep within and around us, trying to imagine what it was like for those young people who found themselves in the midst of all the action of June 16 and the days that followed.

 
Perhaps one thing that we overlook about the youth of 1976 is that a lot of them are still alive. Some of these answers we seek can be given by the people who were alive during that time. They are our parents, our uncles and aunts or our older brothers and sisters. They are everywhere around us. Take my neighbour, Indod’enkulu, as we affectionately call him. He is approaching his fifties and unemployed. He is too young to be a beneficiary of the old-age grant, 'too old' to be employed, and to make matters worse he has no post school qualification.

He tells me that he was in standard 8 (grade 10 in today’s system) when the riots broke out in Soweto. Although he was in KwaZulu, the echoes of what happened in Soweto were heard where he was. He says the boycotts were the norm those days such that his schooling didn’t receive much attention. "What was the point?" he asks me. "We were not going to amount to much under the apartheid regime even if were educated."

 

He admits that change has been slow in coming, especially for people in rural areas like ourselves. He complains that he can’t turn to the government for help. As I engage with him more I realize that his reluctance is a result of apathy and loss of faith in the government. Of the economic opportunities in our area he shrugs his shoulders. “You can’t even get a decent job here, you must go to the cities. Even there the situation is tough. Why can’t they give us some form of subsidy?”

His words leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Thoughts of our current situation as young people confirm the need for us to do something real for our people to give them hope. But hope alone is not enough; it certainly won’t put food on Indod’enkulu’s table.  I contemplate silently that he could turn to crime as an option. He would be confirming the stereotype if he did. I am grateful that he has not opted for this route and this gives me hope. After some enquiries I learned that he has a piece job in the neighbourhood.

 

He walks past my house in the morning to return at midday and my pride wells up each time I see him. Who am I to complain of my unfortunate spell when others less fortunate make ends meet? He is an example of how we can move forward given our challenges. Living in South Africa is a bitter-sweet experience.

The Absence of Black Intellect in Universities

The very notion of a black intellectual baffles me; in fact I find it pathetic. Such a thing does not exist. It’s rather ironic or downright shocking that the idea of a ‘black intellectual’ is preached within institutions of higher learning, especially in the democratic dispensation which we find ourselves living in. And while you’re reading this, don’t get me wrong. The breed in question exists.

I’ve looked in mainstream sciences, the media, the slums, and the ghettos. The results are conclusive and hard to stomach, given the freedom afforded the black individual to emancipate himself and exonerate himself in the process. The black man as a subject of study has been through many dilemmas. His upbringing is that of a savage. His education is deemed an inconvenience and a disturbance to the ‘order’. His cries for help fall on deafened ears, his efforts to fend for himself seem immaterial as the world looks on from ivory towers. When he does anything correct it is because he has had some superior assistance, at times from a superior race. God forbid the assistance to be from Him! The savage knows no means to bring himself closer to such a being.

The black as a member of society is constantly on the back foot. Before he leaves his home, or rather, for the purposes of being politically correct; his shanty, he has three strikes against him. The first strike is for him being born black. The second strike is for him being relegated to inferior status in society where he is regarded as an animal. The third strike is that regardless of how hard he strives to lead a decent and honest living, he is always your suspect when something goes missing. All these three strikes summed up are called Blackaniah. Simply put, the black is a rare type of breed.
The winds of change are forever blowing. The latest developments have seen the black being regarded as a rare commodity. His constant manipulation for the purposes of acquiring wealth and capital remains the main reason why he is often afforded humanistic characteristics. He is thought to be a beast in as far as physical labour is concerned. His kind is constantly seen employed in mines where the safety standards are appalling. If not in mines then you will find more of his kind doing piece-jobs or riding around at the back of a van or pick-up truck while his master’s pet enjoys view from the front seat.

Those of his kind that work hard enough have their offspring enrolled in universities and institutions similar to them. It is believed by the black that this practice of enrolling the young in universities will see the cycle of misery and gloom broken. The truth of the matter is that such institutions are mere reservoirs where the new ‘recruits’ are chosen and drafted into the ‘highly competitive’ job market. His offspring is expected to go through university with the utmost ease. The reality of it is that his offspring has tremendous strain trying to grasp the Euro-centric content of the curriculum. His limited exposure to literature and his lack of reading acumen make it virtually impossible for his offspring to be truly independent and self-sustaining. As a result, his offspring regularly replicates the knowledge reproduced for him. Thus a cycle of mediocrity is established.

Let it not surprise you then dear reader when you find that the notion of black intellect is at a steady yet alarming decline. This is a systematic breakdown of the black so that he remains in his rightful position- at the feet of his master! So dare nobody question me when I say that there is no such thing as black intellect, the black has his master to assist him in matters that need such!