THE ANC National Youth Task Team (NYTT) has criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa, Cabinet Ministers and other senior ANC leaders for failing to engage poor communities and unemployed youths on the ground about their frustrations and concerns following the so-called pro-Zuma riots.
Various analysts maintain that the COVID-19 pandemic, job layoffs and an economic downturn have forced unemployed youths to resort to violence and rampant looting seen in the past few days in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and some parts of the country.
“Political leaders should never outsource their responsibility to the state to provide much needed leadership in communities,” said the ANC NYTT.
“We therefore call on ANC and ANCYL leaders to descend upon communities to engage people on their concerns and frustrations. No peace and stability will be brought without engagement with those affected.”
The ANC NYTT said it was of the view that both the ANC and its government have been found wanting on the matter, as this situation should have been anticipated and handled better both at a political as well as at state law enforcement level.
The ANC’s youth wing warned government that the ticking time bomb of youth unemployment “is self-detonating”.
“The moment has arrived for government to create an enabling environment for youth development and a clear policy advancement for the resolution of the triple challenges of inequality, poverty, and unemployment,” it said.
“Young people are called upon to conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with the law in voicing out their grievances and defending our hard-earned democratic order.”
EFF leader and former ANC Youth League president Julius Malema criticised the decision by Ramaphosa to deploy the army, saying in a tweet: “You can’t start with @SAPoliceService or @SANDF_ZA as the first call. The question should be: Where are the leaders to speak to their people? Are they scared of their people? And if the answer is yes, the next question should be: why are the leaders in the first place?”
- Inside Politics
