Supporting local industries is not just economic choices but acts of nation-building

THE youth have always been at the forefront of driving societal change.

- EUSTACE MASHIMBYE

This year, South Africa commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprisings in remembrance of the courage shown by young people who took to the streets and confronted a repressive regime.

The events of June 16, 1976, forever changed South Africa's landscape.

South Africa has changed markedly since the events of 1976, and in equal measure, young people face new challenges.

The battlefield is no longer on the streets, but in the social and economic arena.

The weapons of choice are no longer rocks and dustbin lids, but entrepreneurship skills, higher education, and aptitude with smart technologies.

The proverbial Goliath towering before the young David is no longer the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of Afrikaans, but the scourge of unemployment, crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and gender-based violence.

Like the youth of 1976, the young people of today have Herculean challenges that they must overcome.

The statistics on youth unemployment make for grim reading: Statistics South Africa’s latest Q1 2026 Quarterly Labour Force Survey shows that 4.7 million people aged between 15 and 34 were unemployed in the first quarter of 2026, while a further 10.6 million were outside the labour force altogether.

Among those aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate was at 60.9% in the first quarter, while unemployment among those aged 25 to 34 reached more than 40%. The broader youth unemployment rate, covering people aged 15 to 34, stood at 45.8%.

These statistics highlight the persistent challenges faced by young South Africans in entering the workforce and securing stable employment.

The chronic unemployment faced by young people provides fertile ground for the incubation and prevalence of social ills such as drug and alcohol abuse, gender-based violence and hopelessness.

But all is not lost.

Young people need to realise that they wield enormous power to change the course of their destiny.