YCLSA Free State Press Statement February 20, 2013
EXPECTATIONS OF YCLSA FREE STATE ON STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS BY PREMIER ACE MAGASHULE. The Young Communist League of South Africa (uFasimba) in Free State wishes to once more take this opportunity to express its expectations on the upcoming State of the Province Address (SOPA) to be delivered by Premier Ace Magashule on Thursday 21 February at the Vista Arena, Bloemfontein. Though we expect the Premier to address various issues that affect the people of the Free State, we believe the following should be prioritised in his SOPA; 1) Education Much applaud has been given to the MEC for Education and Free State government for their sterling performance in last year’s 81.1% matric pass-rate. What the YCLSA in Free State now expects is a bold message from SOPA that instructs all parents, teachers and the MEC to ensure that this pass-rate is sustained at an upward trend. We also expect the Premier to indicate the intentions of his administration in terms of allocating more resources to basic education and higher education in the province. The YCLSA in Free State envisages a situation where public higher education in the province is accessible to all. Because we are essentially an agricultural province, it would only be fair if the Premier’s SOPA also touches on how far is government in producing and recruiting agricultural scientists and agronomist through our tertiary institutions for the economical benefit of the Free State. The Glen Agricultural College must receive the necessary support from government so that it becomes more capacitated and produces at least 1000 graduates annually. The YCLSA also advocates that; as part of the basic education curriculum, learners at pre-tertiary institutions must be compelled to do their driver’s licences before completing their grade 12. This will help in building a developmental state. 2) Health The YCLSA Free State is the only youth organisation in the province with a clear programme of action on health. Our health campaign has exposed to a variety of challenges the public health sector is facing. These include understaffed health facilities, shortage of drugs and medicines, shortage of equipment, shortage of beds and linen etc. SOPA must provide us with a clear solution of how government, working together with business and NGOs, will address these. We also anticipate a latest report on developments relating to the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI). National hospital incident 3) Jobs for Youth Emanating from resolutions took at our YCLSA Free State “Jobs for Youth Summit”, a Youth Indaba was finally convened by the Free State government but we remain sceptical about the successful implementation of what was agreed upon at the summit. The YCLSA in Free State demands jobs and employment opportunities to be given to younger citizens of the province. We still believe corporatives can also address the question of youth unemployment. We reiterate our call for the total termination of the tender system which perpetuates crimes such as fraud and laundering. It is also high time the work of the Free State Development Corporation is assessed and we must push for more young people to tap into the economy of property ownership. NAMPO, one world’s biggest Agricultural Trade Show must be more inclusive as well. The plight of domestic workers who are deprived their UIF benefits by employers who do not comply with labour regulations is also a matter of concern to us as the YCLSA in Free State. The department of labour must also intervene in this regard. As the YCLSA, we are also ready to assist in the formation of Career Centres in the province that will be of great benefit to young people. 4) The Economy and Land 2013 marks the centenary of the 1913 Native Land Act which dispossessed and evicted native blacks from working their own land. As said before, the economy of the Free State is tied around agricultural activities and SOPA must speak to the question of land restitution within the confines of the Constitution. We need a systematic way of handing back land to black South Africans hence the “willing-buyer willing-seller” policy has dismally failed. The YCLSA in Free State will, henceforth, develop a clear programme of identifying unused land in the province and collaborate with government in ensuring that such land is given to those who are willing to work it. 5) Governance and social order With the recent “Zamdela riots” in Sasolburg that nearly destabilised the smooth governance of the province, it will be valued if the Premier uses SOPA to reassure the people of the Free State that government will continue to respond to their social needs and deliver essential services to all. We do not wish for such “riots” to spread to other localities in the Free State. We also anticipate the Premier to speak boldly about the dismal local governance structure in the province. Generally, our local municipalities are in a mess hence they rely on the Municipal Infrastructural Grant (MIG) for payment of their employees for example. It is time that government recruits unemployed graduates from our tertiary institutions with qualifications such as Public Management and appoints young passionate people to run our local government structures. ISSUED BY YCLSA FREE STATE For more contact: Fezile Sonkwane YCLSA Free State Spokesperson Cell: 079 991 4618 Sent from my iPhone -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
