Youth Day June 16th commemorates the 1976 Soweto uprising
JOHANNESBURG - Forty-nine years ago today, young people rose up against the apartheid regime, demanding a better future.
This courageous stand, however, came at a tragic cost, with many, like Hector Pietersen, losing their lives.
June 16th now stands as a solemn day of remembrance, honouring those sacrifices for a more equitable tomorrow for all young South Africans.
READ | Youth Day | EFF leader addresses party's 16 June rally
Yet, 31 years into democracy, the question lingers: Has that promise been realised?
Millions of young people face the grim reality of unemployment.
This stark contrast has led many to question the very significance of days like Youth Day.
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IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
Mashatile's keynote on youth empowerment: A look at South Africa's progress since 1994
Deputy President Paul Mashatile delivered the keynote address during the Youth Day commemoration. Image: Jairus Mmutle/GCIS Deputy President Paul Mashatile has delivered his keynote address at the government's National Youth Day commemoration event in Potchefstroom, North West. In his keynote address, Mashatile took the opportunity to reflect on what he termed the major victories of the democratic dispensation. 'While challenges remain, allow me to briefly reflect on some of the major victories that our democratic dispensation has registered in advancing youth empowerment since 1994,' said Mashatile. 'Firstly, at the Basic Education level, we have transformed the matric pass rate from 58% in 1994 to a historic 87.3% in 2024. This is the result of three decades of making education an apex priority of government. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 'Our basic education system has gradually transformed whilst redressing the generational legacies of Verwoerd's Bantu education system. While we are not yet where we wish to be, we are also far from the inequality and disregard inherited in 1994,' he said. Secondly, Mashatile said in higher education, South Africa's National Student Financial Aid Scheme has been a catalyst for widening access to higher education for the marginalised. The scheme has grown from a modest budget of R33 million in 1991, serving only 7,240 students, to over R52 billion today, funding more than 1.1 million students at universities and TVET colleges. 'As a result of this sustained investment, the demographic composition of our higher education system has been fundamentally transformed. In 1994, there were 266,190 black students, representing 50.4% of the total student population. By 2020, that number had grown to 862,313 black students, constituting 80% of enrolments,' said Mashatile. He said South Africa has also met and surpassed gender parity in higher education participation rates, with over 60% of graduates from colleges and universities now being young women. Mashatile said at the beginning of this month, 205,000 young people were placed in jobs through Phase 5 of the Basic Education Employment Initiative as part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus. 'In 2023, as our democratic dispensation turned 30, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities made a commitment to move beyond advocacy and begin to conceive nationwide transformative projects, with a particular focus on poor and marginalised communities,' he said. Earlier, Mashatile said on Youth Day South Africa honours and pays tribute to the valiant and fearless young people who stood at the forefront of the liberation struggle on June 16, 1976. 'Regardless of their youthful stature, the youth of 1976 stood strong in the face of the oppressive system of the apartheid regime. They faced death with unwavering determination, fuelled by a vision of equal rights and a more just society,' said Mashatile. 'It has been 49 years since that significant day, yet we will always remember the student leaders like Tsietsi Mashinini and Hastings Ndlovu who orchestrated the mass demonstration that transformed our nation. 'We must never forget those who joined the long list of martyrs and paid the ultimate price for our freedom. These are the young brave souls who fought for a dream that they never saw come to life, a dream that continues to inspire and guide us,' he said. By taking action in 1976 against an enforced Afrikaans language as the exclusive medium of instruction in African schools, Mashatile said those young learners were carrying out the path of struggle defined by their forefathers through the Freedom Charter.
The Citizen
2 hours ago
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WATCH: ‘Even Donald Trump is scared of the EFF'
'We say to white people that we want to live together in peace, but we can't if you don't give us what you stole from us.' EFF leader Julius Malema has taken fresh shots at Donald Trump, claiming the US President is 'scared' of the party. Malema was a topic of conversation during SA President Cyril Ramaphosa's visit to the White House last month. There, Trump played a video of Malema chanting the controversial 'Kill the Boer' chant and questioned why the Red Beret leader had not been arrested. Trump and his former bestie Elon Musk claimed there is a white genocide that is being fuelled by Malema, despite official crime statistics not supporting any claims of a genocide in the country. Malema initially responded by claiming the visit was nothing more than 'a group of older men' meeting to 'gossip' about him. But speaking at a Youth Day Rally on Monday, Malema took a fresh dig at Trump and Musk. 'Comrades, let us build a strong organisation. This EFF, even Donald Trump is scared of it. Elon Musk is scared of it,' he told supporters at King Zwelithini Stadium in KwaZulu-Natal. Malema said Kill the Boer is not a chant invented by him, but an anti-apartheid song. 'There is no white genocide. No one wants to kill white people. We say to white people that we want to live together in peace, but we can't if you don't give us what you stole from us. We are not talking about killing anyone,' he added. He also slammed Trump's treatment of Ramaphosa during the visit and suggested the SA leader had embarrassed the country. 'Ramaphosa said he would never be bullied by Trump, but when he arrived in the Oval Office, he was shaking like a small boy. He was bullied by another president who forced him to watch a movie without his permission. 'No one does that to another president. That is the highest form of disrespect. Ramaphosa has destroyed the dignity of this country internationally, and we must restore the dignity of SA. We will defend our country and its sovereignty'. ALSO READ: WATCH: Malema should apologise for 'Kill the Boer' chant — Trump advisor Why are you going back to Zuma? The EFF lost 7.4% of its support in KZN, and six seats in the provincial legislature, in last year's elections. Some of those votes were taken by former president Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which garnered 45% of the total votes in the province. Malema questioned the result and urged voters not to be swayed by Zuma's 'simple lies'. 'You cannot lose power to an old man and say Zuma is the future. How can the old be the future? You are the future of this country. We cannot be led by an old man who misled us during his time. 'He never gave us jobs, and says he can give us jobs now. 'Now he says he will give you land. Why didn't he give you land when he was president of South Africa, or when he was deputy president of this country? 'We must stop listening to simple lies.' NOW READ: 'A meaningless publicity stunt by a limping president': EFF slams Ramaphosa's national dialogue call
eNCA
2 hours ago
- eNCA
Mashatile describes SA's unemployment crisis as a 'moral emergency'
Potchefstroom – Deputy President Paul Mashatile has sounded the alarm on South Africa's deepening youth unemployment crisis, calling it a 'moral emergency' that must be urgently addressed. Speaking during the Youth Day official commemoration in Potchefstroom, North West, Mashatile honoured the legacy of the 1976 student uprisings. In the same breath, he warned that today's youth face a different kind of battle, characterised by high unemployment, inequality, and a lack of opportunities, especially in the digital world. Additionally, he noted with concern that 3.8 million young people are not in education, employment or training. He said this needs urgent action from all sectors, including the government, business and civil society. "We must fix the structural challenges in our economy to address inequality and skills mismatch between education and what the job market needs," Mashatile said. He also took the time to outline several government initiatives aimed at empowering the youth. They include entrepreneurship support and accelerating youth access to the job market through programmes such as the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention and the recently launched South African National Service Institute (Sansi).
