Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has rallied the youth to be resilient in the face of the challenges currently besetting the country, saying this would propel the country to greater heights.<\/P>
The Minister on Wednesday hosted a dialogue on youth sustainability during COVID-19. During the dialogue, various youth who have received social development services spoke about how they had been impacted by the pandemic.<\/P>
\u201c[You] have to be resilient,\u201d she said. \u201cYour being here is a testimony to the work that you do not only in your own families, in your own homes or in your streets but the work that you do from your communities.\u201d<\/P>
She reiterated President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s Youth Day message of patriotism. In his address, the President asked the youth to be patriotic, committed and consistent.<\/P>
\u201cThis requires hard work. He [President Ramaphosa] said you are a generation that is born into democracy and therefore you must take greater interest in the development and destiny of your own country,\u201d Zulu said.<\/P>
She said while the country faced challenges of low economic growth, high rates of youth unemployment, skills development, economic empowerment, among others, the youth could not moan and groan.<\/P>
\u201cI think what I\u2019m mostly excited about today is the fact that most of the young people who spoke today didn\u2019t come here to moan and groan and say so and so is not doing this for us,\u201d she said.<\/P>
\u201cAll of them individually they came here to say we see a challenge, we see a problem, and this is what we\u2019re doing about it. We are looking for government to create a conducive environment in order for us to be able to work.\u201d<\/P>
In such platforms, she said it was important that government departments and agencies be on hand to share services and products that would contribute to youth upliftment. <\/P>
\u201cInvite the private sector because the building of this country is not only for government, it is for everybody to contribute to this building of this country,\u201d said Zulu.<\/P>
She urged the youth to gain as much knowledge as possible as they embark on their respective journeys.<\/P>
The notion of today\u2019s youth being a lost generation needed to be debunked.<\/P>
\u201cI don\u2019t believe in that. I believe that you are facing new challenges that need you to be resilient, that need you to look at the opportunities around you,\u201d she said.<\/P>
It was pleasing to hear how speakers had benefitted from government programmes and they had in turn pursued their businesses. <\/P>
\u201cI want to say to you that it\u2019s important for you to understand and appreciate the strategies, the plans and the implementation plans of government, the plans that we have for helping people to change their lives, their creation of the conducive environment for you to do that.\u201d<\/P>
She called on the youths to analyse the District Development Model, which helps the country understand a district\u2019s economy, its challenges and opportunities.<\/P>
\u201cKnow your district, know its capabilities and possibilities, know the business that is around your district and go to the offices of local government to find out what is it that you can do in order for you to be supported in all the programs that were clearly stipulated and articulated by all of you here,\u201d she said.<\/P>
The youth, she said, were the country\u2019s future and should not undermine their capability to contributing in building a better South Africa.<\/P>
\u201cBut first and foremost, focus on building yourself through behavioral change. When you see that things are not coming right, go out and get the information, influence others around you for a behavioral change,\u201d she said. <\/P>
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Source: South African Government News Agency<\/P>
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