Young people are tokenized in politics; everyone wants them to vote, but nobody is actually addressing their concerns
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Tandwa said that less than 40% of the youth is registered to vote, and asked Obakeng Kgatshe, the Youth Activism Programme Manager at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, why this is so. Kgatshe answered that the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation encourages young people to vote, but has found that the reason that they are not voting is because although they are interested in the politics in South Africa, they feel the political parties do not represent them or align with their needs.
Kumalo said there is an age limit of being 35 or older that prohibits young people from being able to engage in politics. The youth has always impacted on the political sphere in SA, from the 1976 uprisings to FeesMustFall in 2015, which happened almost a decade ago, but beyond commenting on Twitter, the voice of the youth is today restricted.
Nevhutalu said young people must understand that this is their country, their responsibility. “They are looking for some kind of messiah to come and change things,” he said. Corruption is a big problem in South Africa, and sometimes even the youth are involved in it; for instance there are some SRC members who are taking bribes. Young people must be fully engaged in the democratic process before, during and after elections.
The reluctance of youth to engage in the political sphere is not unique to South Africa, it is a global phenomenon, said Nevhutalu. Even in China, where there are jobs, the youth are not engaged. The youth must start shaping who they want to vote for. Kagiso Trust has never advocated that the youth must just go and vote; young people must educate themselves on what the manifestos of various parties are about.
There are few youth structures left for the youth, said Nkadimeng: “The youth have to scrape for every second of people’s attention.”Asked about coalitions, Nkadimeng said there are hopes for national coalitions, rather than provincial or metropolitan coalitions. Kgatshe said that people are scared to vote for smaller parties because they may become kingmakers, so they vote for the devil they know.
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