The IFP Youth Brigade (IFPYB) has called on government, on the eve of June 16 Youth Day celebrations, to increase its focus on specific national youth driven policies that will address the broader developmental needs of the youth of South Africa.

The IFPYB said that urgent and renewed focus is needed on South Africa's education system, job creation and skills development for young people.

"South Africa has a large youth population and youth unemployment has emerged as a major developmental challenge for South Africa. It is now clear that if we do not increase our focus on specific youth-directed policies, we are in danger of raising a generation of young South Africans who will be unemployed, unemployable and living off social grants," said Pat Lebenya-Ntanzi MP, the acting Chairperson of the IFPYB.

Lebenya-Ntanzi said that it was ironic that 34 years after the historic Soweto Uprising on June 16, 1976 - when black students rose up against the educational policies of the former apartheid regime - education still remains the biggest threat to the future of young people today.

"The Zuma-administration has come close to admitting that the outcomes based education (OBE) system has been a failure, but the truth is that basic schooling has become worse than under Bantu Education because OBE has undermined the teaching of reading, writing, and arithmetic. If we do not address the critical challenges within our education system we will continue to produce young people who are unskilled and ill-equipped to enter the work force and youth unemployment will continue to increase," said Lebenya-Ntanzi.

Lebenya-Ntanzi urged government to act on its promise of increasing youth employment through a government wage subsidy.

"We have taken note of government's aim to raise the employment levels of young school leavers by an additional 500 000 by 2013, through a proposed youth wage-subsidy scheme, but nothing has come of these good intentions. There seems to be a lack of political will to drive this initiative and we call on government, and its development arm, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), to implement this initiative as a matter of urgency," said Lebenya-Ntanzi

Lastly, Lebenya-Ntanzi called on all young people to remember and respect the heroes of 1976.

"Let us honour the fallen heroes of 1976 by using the wonderful spirit of the 2010 World Cup, which has seen young people across the racial and cultural divide unite in support of our country, to build out of this national unity, pride and solidarity a new platform for change, transformation and development. Let us unite to change the lives of all our young people for the better," added Lebenya-Ntanzi MP.

Contact: Ms Pat Lebenya-Ntanzi MP, 078 186 3619.