Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela was put on the spot by young people attending the Western Cape Human Settlements Youth Summit yesterday.
Delegates fired questions at Madikizela about what the department was doing to improve South Africans’ living conditions and under-spending, among other issues.
More than 60 young people attended the summit at the Cape Town International Convention Centre which started yesterday and continues today.
The summit was opened with a keynote address by Premier Helen Zille, who emphasised the value of doing a little for more people, rather than doing a lot for fewer South Africans.
“Hundreds and thousands of people are looking for homes. While people are waiting for their houses, people are living without taps, toilets and storm water. People need to live with some dignity now,” said Zille.
Zille called on the youth to work with the government.
“Upgrading informal settlements is a social process. We have to work together to resolve the human settlement crisis. Every young person needs to grow up with vision and hope for a life in which they are contributing and capable citizens that add value,” she said.
Samkelo Mqombothi, provincial secretary for the Congress of SA Students, said the summit was a platform for him to point out areas in which the youth was neglected in the MEC’s budget speech.
“He gave us a lot of figures about skills development programmes. I want to know where, when, how, with whom these programmes are going to be carried out,” said Mqombothi.
Roscoe Jacobs, of the Hangberg Education Development Movement, said young people have a lot to offer the department.
“We can bring to the table solutions that we would like to see. We saw how not consulting with the community turned out for the city in Hangberg,” he said.
“As people who are actually living in the communities, we have a better understanding of the issues and what we want than the premier or the MEC,” said Jacobs.
No comments:
Post a Comment