KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli has announced that his government has allocated R100 million to the Youth Fund to support youth in business in an effort to create employment opportunities in the province.
The Premier was speaking at the Youth Fund Commemoration attended by approximately 3000 youth from the province at Mangosuthu University of Technology as the Youth Month draws to an end.
The aim of the Youth Fund which Ntuli said was to support and facilitate the youth in business will be overseen by the Premier’s Office.
The South African youth unemployment currently stands at 45.5%.
The Premier said his government will make sure that the Youth Day will no longer be a ‘talk shop’ but will bear impactful rewards.
In South Africa, the month of June is dedicated to the youth as the country celebrate the 1976 Youth who died while fighting the apartheid regime.
Ntuli told the youth attending the event that he will be hands on in the funding because he wants the people of the province to see that his government is changing the lives of the youth.
“We want to support and incubate creative ideas that have potential to create massive employment,” said Ntuli.
He hopes that through the Fund and other empowerment funds, the KZN government will be able to create the Technological Innovation Provincial Centres which will in turn foster new entrepreneurship village.
The Premier was accompanied by his MEC’s as he said they will work hard to address the challenges facing the youth as he said his government is intentional in building new hope for the KZN youth.
Ntuli also encouraged the youth in the province to use the programmes available to them successfully to realise their aspirations about tomorrow.
The Premier highlighted that the reconstruction and rebuild is not about addressing the issues of job opportunities or crime, but it is also about addressing the issues of social ills like drug abuse.
“I know that they can play a role that they can play meaningful in their different communities where they are located to drive an agenda to fight against crime, social ills and drugs. From today l hope we will have a way of monitoring and evaluating the successes and the decisions that will emanate from the sessions we had today, “stressed Ntuli.
On Wednesday, Ntuli will meet with the newly appointed MEC” s which he said will be presenting the budgets. He said all the departments will have to demonstrate how they intend to contribute in transforming the youth of this province.