An event aimed at bringing on board mining bosses to help the youth also become miners was convened a week ago.
Mpumalanga youth manager in Premier Refilwe Mtshwen’s Office, Desmond Moela’s ‘incubation’ programme is good only that it is about the youth but without them, the South African Youth Council (SAYC) has said.
They will now write to Premier Refilwe Mtshweni and “register” their “dissatisfaction”.
Last week Moela, who is also the ANCYL’s deputy president, convened an event aimed at bringing on board mining bosses to come groom the youth of Nkangala about the mining business.
Called ‘Future Miners Incubation Programme”, the event was actually going to be launched at the Ridge in eMalahleni on 19 February 2019.
It could not continue because of disagreements but now the Nkangala SAYC believes the programme was good only that “it was meant to be in the dark”.
“If it was not meant to be in the dark why didn’t they invite SAYC in the region because SAYC is a formation of all youth structures in the region?” the council’s regional secretary Pascaline Mazibuko said this week.
“Okay, let’s leave that [they didn’t invite us aside], why would a programme meant to empower poor young people be held at the Ridge? Why not here in the township halls or school?” she asked.
“It was meant to be in the dark and they would then use it to empower themselves. At SAYC we have the database of the poor young people who have the companies that should be incubated by the big mining companies for mining skills and you do not invite us, what do you call that? Who exactly do you convene the event for? See, that’s why I say it was about us without us and meant to be in the dark,” she said.
Moela didn’t answer his phone on Tuesday.
The programme wants to create future miners by getting mining giants together with small businesses owned by youth from previously disadvantaged communities.
The poster said its aim was to “introduce” it and then “carry out a consultative session on the opportunities available for the execution of the Future Miners programme”.
“It is further to encourage youth economic participation in the mining sector,” it reads.
It was then supposed to occur in an “open way”, Mazibuko said.
She added they will now “register” a “dissatisfaction” with Mtshweni’s Office about the event “because we want them to re-convene it but in the proper and open way”.
“It’s a good programme but we are seriously opposed to arrogance,” she said.
(edited by ZK)
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