Empowering Our Collective Future: Uniting Youth for Change
Mobilizing Together for a Brighter South Africa
A day before voting, I feel less inclined to speak about who we should vote for and more about how we should consider voting and figuring out which parties are the lesser of two evils. I want to speak to the youth and really unpack the hope and aspiration we should have for our country for better youth engagement and better prioritization of their needs.
The election we have discussed at length shows that we have a disgruntled population. People are finding it harder and harder to find parties that align with their core beliefs, and voter apathy continues to increase as the country continues to degrade. Many are too quick to blame the youth, who make up the majority of the population. But they are quick to forget that we inherited a country and world with major issues: climate change, lack of education and basic services, and a lack of willingness from the government to engage youth on the ground and at the grassroots level. This continues to put our democracy at risk of being challenged by other entities. But it is easy to identify the problem. So, I come with a proposal for the future, a dream and aspiration for the South African youth to take control of their country.
Firstly, there needs to be a greater emphasis on voter education and knowing your voting rights within schools so that students, from as early as 12 and 13, are aware of the responsibility to be active participants in their democracy. This means teaching them the pros and cons of voting and also of not voting. We need to start maximizing the idea of choice and the ability to withhold your vote so that we are transparent to all South Africans about the choices they are making. Not voting is an active choice that indicates that political parties have failed to represent your needs and wants, which means politicians and parties need to introspectively look at themselves and ask why they fail to gain support from the youth.
Secondly, we need to re-establish Student Representative Council forums between different institutions so that people are engaging with each other, parties, and policy from within their institutions. Steve Biko, in July 1969, recognized the power the youth held and formed the South African Student Organisation (SASO), where the political issues students were facing were brought to the forefront. It was also a place that allowed for the development of young South Africans who were conscious of their surroundings and their problems but attempted to aid communities in finding solutions. This agency allowed the protest in June 1976 to have support from external institutions who were fighting the oppressive government of Apartheid. Uniquely, there was no discrimination based on age but rather a willingness to cooperate because of a shared common goal to live in a free South Africa. Now, after this election, it is important we begin to establish an organization that allows us to directly assist those most in need but also where we can actively engage in policy and debate with politicians.
Thirdly, there is a need to re-establish the youth leagues that parties have. These were, for many, direct pipelines of communication but also a means of climbing the ranks within political parties. However, it is important to establish room for disagreement and not allow political leaders to destroy these institutions because they have principal disagreements. We saw, with the rise of Julius Malema in the ANC Youth League and his more progressive politics, he and many of his constituents were ousted for disagreeing with the ‘elders’ even though their policies directly spoke to the youth of the time. It is important to establish lines of communication instead of furthering rifts that have been growing ever since the removal and destruction of many of these prominent youth leagues.
Finally, we truly have to take control of our democracy. As youth, we have to be engaged and speak to all people of different ages. Even though we are unable to access the presidency until the age of 35, we need to decide if we are going to chart our own path and create parties and policies that will be represented in four election cycles. Alternatively, we must start coming together and championing a few political parties so that political parties feel the necessity to engage the youth and actually implement many of the false promises they continue to make.
Being young in South Africa should never be stressful. People should be able to make the decisions that most young people make. When kids, students, and youth are being asked to be providers in the home and are expected to be the breakthrough from poverty, we forget how young we truly are and how stress-free life should be. Of course, we should have some level of responsibility, but that should solely be on setting up a better future for ourselves.
South Africa, this election is only the beginning of a journey. It is the start of the winds of change that hit Africa in the 1900s, and it is the start of a new tomorrow, a better tomorrow, and a better South Africa. So let's go vote for our future, but let's also truly start orchestrating a world where the future is achievable.
Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said, “It’s time for the youth of South Africa to stop asking for permission to lead and just lead.” There truly is no clearer or better time than now. Thirty years of democracy have come and gone; how do you want the next thirty to look?