Young people breathing fire over alleged lack of government support

Some young individuals in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, are urging government to create more jobs for young people due to the high youth unemployment that’s plaguing the country.

The young people were part of a local march, hoping that the Tshwane municipality would listen to their call for job development for youth.

Themba Lelohedi, who is 19, claims he was refused tertiary education shortly after finishing his matric last year despite his good grades.

He suggests that the government assist institutions in creating more room for potential students in order to discourage them from indulging in unnecessary conduct while sitting at home.

He also asks the government to generate jobs for the youth.

“In tertiary schools we hardly find space for admission; they tell us that they no longer have space for us. There is also a lot of unemployment in South Africa, I would like to see that change. We also stay in residential areas that people treat as though it’s a dumping site for rubbish. Our roads are dilapidated and have too many potholes. Our drainage systems are also worn out,” says Lelohadi.

They young people are also breathing fire out of their noses, upset because the government has allegedly stopped giving some of them SRD grants. They believe the move is unfair.

Ntokozo Ngcongwane, who lives in Block FF in Soshanguve, says she no longer receives the government’s Social Relief of Distress subsidy and is now struggling to make ends meet.

Ngcongwane claims she was told that because she receives other money in her account, she is ineligible for the grant.

She believes this is unfair, especially since the government doesn’t even ask about the purpose of the funds she receives.

“If the government makes unemployment grant, let it be like that despite whatever happens in our bank accounts. It’s called an unemployment grant for a reason. The government needs to consider making the grants accessible to every unemployed person, irrespective of money going in and out of their account because at the end of the day they don’t know the reason why someone receives money in their account,” says Ngcongwane.

The 28-year-old maintains that the R370 is insufficient and that she is making arrangements to get money from other sources to assist sustain herself and her children.

The residents are also still enraged by the recent Marry Me Massacre, while led to the death of seven CPF members.

The chairperson of a community organisation called Soshanguve Jikelele, Kabelo Dilebo, says crime in the township has reached an unbearable level.

“It’s a serious problem. No one in the community is safe. We ask other Tshwane resident to come to Jukulyn, and they don’t want to do that because it is not safe at all. So we are saying to the police that they must get involved in this and protect it’s people,” says Dilebo.

The unhappy residents were hoping to get the attention of the capital city’s mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya.

They made their way to the local municipal offices, which are situated in block KK in Soshanguve.

The group of roughly 80 protestors braved the sun’s rays, backed by police who were monitoring the march as it moved through residential neighbourhoods.

The demonstrators also want potholes in the region fixed, lamenting the damage they cause to their cars.

Some Marry Me Informal Settlement residents as well as others from Ga-Rankuwa also joined were part of the march.

Among the protestors demands was a call for the resumption of the Tshepo 1 million project, which aims to empower youth through job opportunities.

Tshwane MMC for Roads and Transport, Tlangi Mohale, received their list of demands and intends to answer within two weeks.

“We have just received the memo and have gone through it with them word for word. We will definitely give them an official response within the next 14 days. The issues that they have raised are issues that we are already aware of and we are working on resolving them as the new administration,” says Mohale. Written by Odirile Rabolao