by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – BY President Cyril Ramaphosa’s own admission, the aspirations South African youth had for a better life when, 50 years ago, they marched into the streets of Soweto with deadly consequences remain a pipe dream.
He presided over the official 50th anniversary of that tragic day as the country faces its worst socio-economic crises since the end of apartheid in 1994, with the youth the most affected by the downturn.
The protests by the youth marked the initial turning point in the inevitable collapse of apartheid.
Tragically, on June 16, 1976, an estimated 700 students were killed in Soweto when apartheid forces opened fire on pupils protesting against the compulsory use of Afrikaans in Black schools. The nationwide death toll is estimated to have eventually exceeded 1 000 as the uprising sparked countrywide protests.
The 15-year-old Hastings Ndlovu and 12-year-old Hector Pieterson were among the very first students killed by police.
On Tuesday, Ramaphosa led the National Youth Day Commemoration at the FNB Premium Parking precinct, also in Soweto, some 10km east of the site of the shootings. Commemorations of the Soweto Uprising were held under the theme: “The Year of Youth Power: The Future is in Our Hands.”
The day is marked annually as Youth Day.
Fifty years later, Soweto is an embodiment of the ills afflicting the Southern African country. None of the governments that have been in power post-independence has faced as much pressure as the Ramaphosa-led administration.
Young people comprise the larger portion of Soweto’s population, estimated at 2 million. Soweto is an acronym derived from South Western Townships.
With unemployment in South Africa at record-high levels, on a typical day, young people here loiter in the streets or occupy street corners, with little hope of securing employment.
Informal shops, known as spaza shops and mostly owned by foreign nationals, are their favourite hangouts as the chances are greater of getting some change from customers so they can buy cigarettes or marijuana. They also pool their resources to buy alcohol from taverns that have mushroomed across the township.
More enterprising individuals have opened car washes, but business has slowed lately as the winter chill sets in.
Lesedi Moeti (27), from the Orlando East area of Soweto, lamented: “I have lost all hope of securing employment. My academic certificates are gathering dust at home.”
Asked if he would be attending the commemorations where Ramaphosa would address the nation, he responded negatively.
“It would be a waste of time. I won’t have the transport money in any case. The president, in his address, always makes promises that his government never delivers. I will watch on TV, if the electricity stays on.”
Government has cited the end of nationwide load shedding as one of the major breakthroughs of the Government of National Unity, but much of Soweto is now subjected to “load reduction”, implemented in areas where government argues demand is high because a majority of residents are not paying for electricity.
Bandile Zulu (59), from the Emndeni area of Soweto, was a junior student in 1976.
Now a father of three, he feels the post-apartheid government has betrayed the majority.
“Our children roam the streets with nothing to do. This is fuelling crime, drug abuse and teenage pregnancies among our youth,” Zulu said.
“I feel Soweto has been betrayed the most because the uprising that later led to freedom began here. The way things are lately, it feels as if our colleagues died in vain.”
Soweto, like many other townships, suffers intermittent protests over service delivery issues, mostly concerning poor water supplies. More recently, some locals have threatened to take over informal businesses run by foreign nationals. This forms part of the broader anti-migrant tensions prevailing across South Africa.
Sunshine Myende, Chairperson of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), said: “For many young people today, the struggle is against unemployment.”
“The struggle today is against poverty, inequality and exclusion from economic participation,” she added at the recent launch of the 50th anniversary commemorations.
More than 32 years after the end of apartheid, South Africa is widely recognised by the World Bank as the most economically unequal country in the world.
Statistics indicate that 10 percent of the population holds more than 80 percent of the nation’s wealth, which remains largely dominated by whites.
An elite class of Black South Africans also has a stake, but there is outrage over the involvement of some in corruption. Members of the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party, have not been spared implication.
Ramaphosa himself is facing calls for impeachment and parliamentary scrutiny over the “Farmgate” scandal, referring to the 2020 burglary at his game farm in Limpopo, where large amounts of undeclared foreign currency were allegedly stolen and the matter allegedly concealed.
On the eve of the commemorations, he admitted to the challenges faced by the youth.
“We know that for many young South Africans, the promise of democracy can feel distant when jobs are scarce, when opportunities seem out of reach and when qualifications do not always lead to employment,” Ramaphosa said.
His party, after losing its majority in 2024, is now in a coalition with a number of opposition parties, the largest being the Democratic Alliance (DA), with whom relations can be tense.
The party urged young people to register to vote in the municipal elections scheduled for November.
“This Youth Day, the DA’s message is simple: register to vote, vote for a government that works, and help build a winning future for South Africa.”
– CAJ News