The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the Minister of the Women, Youth and Persons With Disabilities, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, to request the that the public participation process for comments on the draft National Youth Policy (NYP) 2020 – 2030 is extended to allow for further comment by the public.
The public participation process is set to end on Monday, 16 March 2020. However, the DA is of the view that there has been little to no evidence of public consultations in regards to the review of the policy.
The NYP outlines Government’s “interventions to enable the optimal development of young people, both as individuals and as members of South African society, enhancing their capabilities to transform the economy and the country”. It is therefore crucial that all relevant stakeholders and the public have the opportunity to comment on the draft policy NYP.
It has come to our attention however that organizations like YouthLabz, #MyVoteCounts and many other civil society groups and NGOs have not been given sufficient time and information to engage with this document.
The policy is reviewed regularly after a particular period. The last review was in 2015 and it will then be reviewed again in 2020, after the conclusion of the current process.
Whilst the DA supports the need for the NYP, we have serious concerns regarding the lack of input from young South Africans as this policy ultimately relates to their development and empowerment. As this stand:
- The Department has clearly not adequately informed the public, and young people in particular, of this policy process;
- The draft policy is an exact copy and paste of the 2015-2020 policy which strongly indicates that either consultations did not take place or they haven’t yielded any substantial input into this new draft;
- The draft policy as it stands does not respond to a wide range of issues, for example, GBV or mental health awareness; and
- There has not been a thorough review of the failures and successes of the NYP (2015 – 2020) currently in force.
The DA through it’s extensive consultation with civil society, young people and other relevant groups impacted by this policy believes that it is critical that Minister Nkoane-Mashebane extend the date for submissions for comments on the draft NYP 2020 – 2030 by a further six weeks from the closing date. This will allow many youth organizations, NGO’s, NPO’s and the broader society more time to engage with the review thoroughly and have their voices heard.