JOINT STATEMENT BY THE NATIONAL MINISTER OF HOUSING AND YOUTH COMMISSION ON YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

29 June 2005 

Annually, South Africa celebrates the Youth Month in June. This year was no exception. The youth of our country campaigned for jobs and training opportunities for young people under the theme “Creating Youth Employment to fight poverty”. Jobs and training opportunities were prioritised as the most pressing needs for youth. 

In response, the national Minister of Housing, Lindiwe Sisulu decided that a Letsema campaign that would involve the youth in building houses for the elderly would take place. The campaign conceptualises that the youth will receive training and develop skills in construction in the building of these houses. An amount of R7 Million has been set aside for this purpose. 

Within the month of July the Youth Commission is expected to develop a strategy on how the campaign can be implemented and to accordingly advise the Minister of Housing. After this, the implementation strategy will be made public. 

The Campaign will be actioned through the National Youth Service (NYS) programme recently adopted by Cabinet as part of the Government Programme of Action. 

The NYS is guided by the vision that seeks to: 

  • Inculcate a culture of service by supporting youth to participate constructively in nation-building.

  • Inculcate in, young people, an understanding of their role in promotion of civic awareness and national reconstruction.

  • Develop the skills, knowledge and abilities of young people to enable them to make the transition to adulthood.

  • Improve youth employability through opportunities for work experience, skills development and support to gain access to economic and further learning opportunities, and

  • Harness the nation’s untapped human resource and provide a vehicle for enhancing the delivery of the country’s development objectives especially to disadvantaged and under-served communities.

This will ensure that young people benefit valuable workable skills from the experience of building the houses. 

Issued Jointly by the National Housing Ministry and the National Youth Commission.