Jobs and corruption are biggest concern for South African youth

SOUTH African youth named unemployment and government corruption as their biggest concerns, according to a survey.

The worries of the 18 to 24-year-olds interviewed in Africa’s most industrialised nation were, on average, more pronounced than those in 14 other African nations, according to a statement released on Thursday by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, which surveyed 300 people in South Africa.

South Africa’s economy has been largely stagnant for a decade, the provision of basic services has deteriorated and the government has said that at least R500-billion was stolen during the nine-year rule of former President Jacob Zuma, who has denied wrongdoing. Unemployment is near a record.

“Just under one-in-three South African youth say their country is headed in the right direction, while almost two-thirds say it is on the wrong track,” the foundation said, adding that this was a marked change from a 2019 survey when almost half of those spoken to said the country was