By REGINALD KANYANE
16 June 2025- The Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, John Steenhuisen, said a Youth Day is a day of remembrance, bringing sharp focus onto the important role of “you” in driving change. Steenhuisen said they remember the courage of the 1976 generation, who stood up against injustice and demanded the right to equal education.
He further said they refused to be told that their future would be dictated by an unjust government. Steenhuisen added that and yet, almost half a century later, one injustice has been replaced with another.
“Not in the classroom, but in the unemployment queue. Not enforced by racist laws, but by the cold indifference of 30 years of singular ANC rule that has robbed millions of young South Africans of opportunity.
“This is the real crisis of our time — a betrayal of the promise of freedom. Youth unemployment in South Africa today is the highest in the world. Over 8.7 million young people are not in employment, education, or training,” he said.
Steenhuisen said that’s not just a statistic — it’s a national tragedy. He said it is a violation of dignity, a theft of potential and a failure of justice.
“Sadly in our country, one does not have to go far to meet a young South African who has been affected by the lack of employment opportunities. These are skilled young people. Matric completed.
“In many instances, higher education has been completed. Trained for the 4th Industrial Revolution. They apply for dozens of jobs every month — but hear nothing back. They do not have “connections,” said Steenhuisen.
He said these young people do not have experience or a chance to gain it. Steenhuisen said they are losing hope.
“That is the story of millions of young people in this country. They do not want favours and slogans. They want a country where working hard means getting ahead.
“A country that opens doors, not closes them. A country that sees them. In the past they had a singular government that clung to policies that served the connected few, not the forgotten many. They got empty promises at youth summits while the economy crumbled,” he said.
Steenhuisen said they got a jobs crisis caused not by bad luck — but by bad governance.
Meanwhile, the ANC national spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu said 16 June is a powerful day etched in the collective consciousness of the nation. Bhengu said on this day in 1976, the
apartheid regime unleashed deadly force on unarmed students who were peacefully protesting against the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction and the broader injustices of Bantu Education.
“June 16, 1976 remains indelible in the history of our liberation struggle, a day when a vicious regime declared war on schoolchildren who dared to dream of freedom.
“We salute the militant and fearless Class of 1976, whose courage, defiance, and sacrifice altered the course of our history. Their bravery is a lasting reminder of the power of youth to drive profound political and social transformation,” she said.
Bhengu said ANC recognises that the history of their liberation struggle is incomplete without acknowledging the central role played by young people. She said they were not passive observers but leaders, organisers and frontline combatants.
The Guardian 