‘There is a growing need for more youth innovation grants’

Several organisations hosted events on Monday aimed at improving the lives of young people, but advocacy groups warn that lasting change will require addressing the systemic issues driving the social ills they face.

Monday, June 16, is Youth Day to commemorate the 1976 Soweto uprising, an event that played an important role in the fight against apartheid in South Africa.

Unemployment, crime, and a lack of economic opportunities are among the challenges activists say young people face in their communities today.

Danielle Cronje, the director of Mosselbank River Conservation Team, a non-profit organisation that protects the environment in Durbanville, said there was a need to nurture the young.

“There is a growing need for more scholarships, mentorship programs, and youth innovation grants - but access alone is not enough. It is equally important to ensure that young people are aware of these opportunities and receive the support they need to apply,” she said. 

In the first quarter of 2015, the official unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 34 stood at 36.9%. By the first quarter of 2025, it had risen to 46.1% - an increase of 9.2 percentage points.

Professor Dieter von Fintel, a professor of Economics at Stellenbosch University said there is a growing group of people who are staying out of the labour market “permanently”, even though they would still like to have a job.

“A big constraint is the large proportion of the unemployed who have been unemployed for a very long time. In other words, they have very little scope to find a job now or in the future," he said. 

Another professor of Economics from the University of the Western Cape, Derek Yu, added that poor economic growth would make job creation pace to be slower, which will ultimately lead to socio-economic problems like poverty, crime, and depression.

He added that the high youth unemployment is attributed to a wide range of factors.

“Structural problems like skills mismatch, perhaps some government job creation policies may not be working well, or even some red tape/rigidities issues like employment legislation rigidity and minimum wage rigidity also play a role.”

Economists further noted that poor service delivery, high crime rates, corruption, load shedding, and deteriorating infrastructure have all discouraged private sector investment, hindering economic growth and job creation.

Casmino Jacobs, a crime activist from Kraaifontein, said the government should revamp the life orientation curriculum in schools to better support the mental and personal development of children.

“Your mother is working late to ensure you have food to eat. Your father is jobless because in our country there is too much theft, red tape, and discrimination. The moment a child understands (these things), is the moment that child will look at their parents with a different perspective and not go look for validation from gangsters and peer pressure," he said. 

The NoStop non-profit organisation is addressing some of the challenges facing youth by running after-school programmes in Scottsville, offering computer training, sewing skills, and other developmental projects.

"We encourage the government to teach youth about skills that will make them work for themselves. We promote entrepreneurship so that we can keep them busy and away from crime," said Mkholisi Mpukumpa, a crime activist and chairperson of Wallacedene Business Development Forum.

Kraaifontein recorded a 15% increase in murders in the first three months of this year as compared to the same period last year, according to crime statistics released by police last month.